Government to increase defence spending by CZK 36 billion next year to reach 2% of GDP

The government plans to increase the Ministry of Defence's budget by CZK 36 billion next year, allowing the Czech Republic to meet its NATO commitment of spending 2% of GDP on defence for the first time. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) announced the plan before departing today for the NATO summit in Ankara.

The military was allocated CZK 154.79 billion in this year's state budget, equivalent to approximately 1.8% of GDP. An additional CZK 30 billion is expected to be directed to defence from other sections of the state budget.