President Pavel to sign state budget ending provisional budget

President Petr Pavel is set to sign the state budget on Friday. Once the law is published in the official collection of laws, the country’s budget provisional will end and the new budget will take effect.

The budget approved by the lower house foresees a deficit of CZK 310 billion this year. Pavel has repeatedly criticised the level of defence spending in the plan and warned about the risk of failing to meet Czechia’s commitments to NATO.

The National Budget Council has also criticised the proposal, saying the deficit exceeds limits set by the country’s budget responsibility law, a claim the finance ministry rejects.