Finance minister: President will not veto state budget for 2026

President Petr Pavel will neither veto nor delay signing this year’s state budget, Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO) told journalists after meeting with the head of state on Monday.

She said the exact date of the signing is expected to be announced after Tuesday’s meeting between the president and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO).

The government has proposed a budget with a deficit of 310 billion crowns for this year.

Schillerová said the discussion with the president focused laregely on defence spending, which President Pavel considers insufficient.

According to the draft budget, defence spending should reach 2.1 percent of GDP. The National Budget Council has warned, however, that spending by the Defence Ministry will amount to 1.73 percent of GDP, with the remainder included in other budget chapters. The government counts some transport infrastructure spending among defence expenditures. According to the council, it is not certain whether the North Atlantic Alliance will recognize those expenditures as defence spending.