The Czech government has signaled it will not heed calls from the United States to boost defence spending beyond the planned CZK 155 billion, equivalent to 1.73 percent of

GDP, Czech Television reported. Leaders of all three coalition parties confirmed their position ahead of the final vote on the 2026 state budget scheduled for next Wednesday.

At a security conference on Thursday, US Ambassador to Prague Nicholas Merrick warned that the Czech defence budget falls well short of NATO commitments, pointing to a target of 5 percent of GDP agreed at last year’s summit in The Hague. He also noted that the pledge is even below the 2 percent benchmark made at a 2014 NATO summit in Cardiff.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his coalition argue that the government cannot increase defence spending due to other pressing budgetary priorities. Officials insist that meeting these domestic obligations must take precedence over additional military expenditure. Photo by Ricardalovesmonuments, Wikimedia commons.