Czechs won't meet NATO defense spending target under populist leader Babiš

Czech lawmakers have approved a 2026 budget that keeps defense spending below NATO’s 2% target, despite pressure from the United States

PRAGUE -- PRAGUE (AP) — Czech Republic lawmakers on Wednesday approved a 2026 budget that falls short of a NATO target for defense spending, despite pressure from the United States and the country's own president.

The legislators loyal to the new government of populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, voted 104-87 in Parliament's 200-seat lower house to allocate almost 155 billion koruna ($7.4 billion) for the Defense Ministry, or just over 1.7% of gross domestic product.

The NATO target is 2% of GDP. The Czech spending would inch above 2% only if funding for defense-related projects at other ministries is factored in. It was not clear if that would be acceptable to the alliance, which the Czech Republic has been a member of since 1999.

Babiš argued that his government had other priorities, such as “the health of our citizens,” and said it was “the maximum possible” budget due to a poor state of public finances inherited from the previous government.

NATO members in 2014 committed their defense spending to at least 2% of GDP and the alliance expected all members, including the Czechs, to meet that target last year.