Czechia set to miss NATO’s 2% defense spending target

The Czech Republic will not meet NATO’s target of spending two percent of its GDP on defense this year, according to the alliance’s assessment.

NATO estimates that Czech defense spending will reach 1.78% of GDP, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said in a video on social media today. According to him, the previous government led by Petr Fiala (ODS) also failed to meet the commitment last year, as NATO recognized defense spending at 1.85% of GDP.

Babiš said he discussed NATO’s figures on Saturday with Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna (SPD). “In 2025, the Czech Republic reported 2.01% and NATO recognized 1.85%. For 2026, we are reporting 2.06%, while NATO says 1.78%,” he stated. He added that the government intends to negotiate with the alliance over the recognized spending and plans to gradually increase defense expenditures in the future.

Meanwhile, in response to Babiš’s claim that the required NATO defense spending target was not met even in the previous year, former Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said that the Czech Republic did meet the requirement in 2025. Former Defense Minister Jana Černochová (ODS) also told ČTK that the Czech Republic fulfilled the two-percent commitment, adding that Babiš is lying.