CT: Czech government to ignore US calls for higher defence spending

The Czech government is set to ignore US calls to increase spending on defence from the announced CZK 155 billion, which amounts to 1.73 percent of GDP, Czech Television reported. The heads of all three coalition parties confirmed this ahead of a final vote on the 2026 state budget planned for next Wednesday.

Speaking at a security conference on Thursday, the US ambassador to Prague, Nicholas Merrick, said the amount Czechia planned to spend on defence would leave it far below its commitments from a NATO summit in the Hague last year (5 percent of GDP), and even below a pledge from another one in Cardiff in 2014 (2 percent).

The government headed by Andrej Babiš says there is no money to increase defence spending as it must fulfil other budgetary priorities.