Czech defense spending will increase in the coming years only depending on the state budget’s capacity and the specific needs of the military, according to Finance Minister Alena Schillerová.
She stated that the government intends to maintain defense spending at no less than 2% of GDP and is prepared for further increases if the budget situation is favorable. Schillerová emphasized that neither the previous nor the current cabinet exceeded this level, and the current government inherited a budget deficit. She also noted that defense spending calculations include not only the Ministry of Defense’s expenditures but also those of other agencies, such as those on transport infrastructure, as the Czech Republic is a transit country.
As a reminder, NATO countries announced plans to increase their military spending to 5% of GDP in the summer of 2025. The previous Czech government declared a goal of increasing defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2030. Meanwhile, current Prime Minister Andrej Babiš stated that his cabinet had not made such a commitment. For 2026, the cabinet proposes allocating €7.65 billion for defense, which is €868.8 million less than the amount planned by the previous government of Petr Fiala. According to the January forecast, these expenditures will amount to 2.07% of GDP.
