Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0100Wed, 22 Jul 2026 15:21:03 +0200https://english.radio.cz/shadow-defence-minister-expects-further-budget-cuts-and-introduces-his-own-8076079© 2026 Radio Prague International The Czech defence sector is in dire need of reform. The Defence Ministry's plan to transform the Army into a fully professional one has been dealt a heavy blow by the government, which has drastically cut defence spending as part of an attempt at reducing the state budget deficit and reforming public finances. As a result, Defence Minister Miroslav Kostelka has come up with a new reform plan, which calls for soldiers to be laid off and army bases to be closed down. Steps that shadow Defence Minister Petr Necas says do not go far enough, given that more defence budget cuts can be expected. Dita Asiedu reports: encr@radio.cz (Cesky Rozhlas)webmaster@radio.cz (CRo Webmaster) https://english.radio.cz/sites/default/files/images/4f5197446b1f6808606b2a0aab5e5a67.png?timestamp=1583150525 https://english.radio.cz/shadow-defence-minister-expects-further-budget-cuts-and-introduces-his-own-8076079 Radio Prague International Radio Prague International radio.prague.int@gmail.com clean 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9