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Czech president adds to criticism of government's defence spending cuts
President Pavel criticized defence cuts to 1.73% of GDP, below NATO targets, but signaled no veto while watchdog questions budget accounting methods.
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10 Articles
Czech President Petr Pavel criticized the government of Prime Minister Andrej Babis over its decision to cut defense spending.
Czech president adds to criticism of government's defence spending cuts
PRAGUE, March 16 - Czech President Petr Pavel called the new government's reduced defence spending unjustifiable on Monday, adding to criticism that Prime Minister Andrej Babis' 2026 budget plans have faced, including from its largest NATO ally, the United States. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Pavel Does Not Intend to Delay Signing the Budget, Schillerová Said. They Discussed Defense Spending
President Petr Pavel met with Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO) at Prague Castle on Monday to discuss the draft state budget for this year. Schillerová said that the president confirmed to her at the meeting that he would not veto the budget and that he would not delay signing it. The debate was said to have been mainly about defense funds.
Budget Proposal Passed by Lower House: Policy Debate Overshadowed by Schedule Struggle
It is undeniable that effort was spent on political maneuvering over how much time to secure for deliberations on a budget proposal, leaving discussions on crucial measures behind. The government as well as the ruling and opposition parties should seriously reflect on this situation.
The Czech government has faced criticism from American diplomats in recent weeks for spending too little on defense. Andrej Babiš's cabinet claims that it has drawn up a budget in which defense spending is higher than two percent of GDP. However, the US ambassador to the Czech Republic, Joseph Merrick, rejects his interpretation. Economist Jan Pavel, who has been working in this area for a long time, also joins the criticism. "NATO's methodology…
Czech President Petr Pavel criticized the government of Andrei Babis for decisions on defense spending that do not even reach the previous target of 2% of GDP.
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