Czech Republic likely to miss NATO defence-spending target, PM tells FT
Andrej Babis said Prague will still aim for 3.5% of GDP by 2035, as a budget shortfall and a highway project complicate defense accounting.
- Prime Minister Andrej Babis told the Financial Times on Sunday that The Czech Republic will "probably" miss NATO's 2% of GDP defense spending target this year, citing budget shortfalls from his predecessor's overspending.
- Czech President Petr Pavel has criticized the government's plan to scale back defense spending in the 2026 budget, warning that military outlays fail to address growing security threats and NATO commitments.
- Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth declared on Saturday that "the era of the United States subsidising the defence of wealthy nations is over," echoing President Donald Trump's pressure on NATO allies amid Russia's four-year war against Ukraine.
- The United States plans to inform NATO it will shrink the pool of American military capabilities available to assist European nations during major crises, Reuters reported this month.
- Babis emphasized Prague remains committed to NATO's 3.5% of GDP target by 2035 but argued allies should prioritize improving military capabilities over easily manipulated spending targets.
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Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said in an interview with the British newspaper Financial Times that the Czech Republic will probably not be able to meet NATO's goal of increasing military spending to two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year.
Czech Republic likely to miss NATO defence-spending target, PM tells FT
The Czech Republic will "probably" miss NATO's target to boost military spending to 2% of gross domestic product this year, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said in an interview published on Sunday.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said in an interview that Czecha will not "probably reach the NATO target of increasing defence spending to 2% of the gross domestic product this year."We will do everything possible to meet the commitment," Babis said for the Financial Times, but pointing out that his government is facing a budget deficit due to the excessive spending of the previous executive. Czech President Petr Pavel is in conflict with Bab…
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