Czech Republic 'certainly not' on path to higher defence spending, says Babis
The Straits Times
PRAGUE, Feb 26 - The Czech Republic is \"certainly not\" setting a path to reach higher defence spending despite rising NATO targets, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Thursday, marking a clear departure from the previous government's policy. Read more at straitstimes.com.
PRAGUE, Feb 26 - The Czech Republic is "certainly not" setting a path to reach higher defence spending despite rising NATO targets, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Thursday, marking a clear departure from the previous government's policy.
Babis' government, led by his populist ANO party, took power in December and is pushing a re-worked 2026 budget plan through parliament. It has faced some criticism over lower defence spending, however.
Babis said before last year's election that a NATO agreement to gradually raise defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product was unrealistic.
Asked in an online interview on Thursday on news server Denik.cz if the government was on a path to higher spending, Babis said: "Certainly not."
"Our priority is the health of our citizens, so that they live long lives," he said.
Babis won last year's election with promises to concentrate more on people's standard of living by boosting wages, cutting some taxes and adding new benefits.
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