The Czech government has approved plans to gradually increase defence spending by 0.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) annually until 2030, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) announced yesterday.
In 2026, he said, the defence budget should be 2.2% of GDP, while in 2030 the Czech Republic should spend 3% of GDP on defence.
Nearly 20 Western leaders and institutions agreed on the need to increase defence spending at a summit in London on Saturday following Friday’s heated meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington. Following that meeting, the U.S. administration announced that it would suspend all military aid supplies to Ukraine, which has been resisting invasion by Russia for three years. A number of European leaders have subsequently stated that Europe must start taking more responsibility for its own security and future.
According to the Prime Minister, the increase in defence spending is essential, and important for the security of the Czech Republic.
“The international situation is very complex,” said Fiala. “We are going through a change in the international order, there is a war going on not far from us, aggressive regimes are no longer hiding their ambitions. We must be able to defend ourselves, and we must respond to this situation by putting money and weapons on the table.”
He added that the increase in defence spending was also an opportunity for the Czech economy, research and innovation.
According to the Defence Ministry, the Czech Republic has met the existing 2% commitment it made as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 2024.
This year, the Defence Ministry budget is CZK 154.4 billion. Including defence spending of CZK 6.4 billion from other chapters of the budget, the total defence spending is CZK 160.8 billion. “If there is a risk that there are not enough funds in this budget year, the government has been warned that we can change the budget for 2025,” Defence Minister Jana Cernochova (ODS) said yesterday.
She also highlighted this year’s NATO summit in The Hague in June, where the objectives of the alliance’s capability building will be updated. According to Cernochova, it is now clear that the summit will introduce a number of additional obligations for the member states, including the Czech Republic. “Based on those, we are also preparing further acquisition plans,” she added. The Czech Army Construction Concept is also likely to be updated in the near future, she said.
