Czech Republic Likely to Fall Short of NATO’s 2% Defense Spending Goal, PM Says
Prime Minister Andrej Babis said the Czech Republic will “probably” miss NATO’s target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense this year, according to an interview published on Sunday.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Babis said his government would “do its best” to meet the pledge but noted that a budget shortfall inherited from his pro-EU predecessor is hampering efforts. The admission underscores the persistent gap between alliance ambitions and fiscal realities in several European capitals.
Czech President Petr Pavel, a former NATO general, has openly clashed with Babis’s populist government over plans to trim defense spending in the 2026 budget. Even after signing the budget into law in March, Pavel warned that military outlays were falling short of both rising security threats and the country’s NATO commitments.
Babis told the FT that Prague remains committed to reaching the alliance’s newer target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035, but he argued that NATO allies should focus more on improving military capabilities rather than chasing spending percentages, which he said can be “easily manipulated.”
His remarks come as the United States signals a shift in its military posture. Reuters reported this month that Washington plans to tell NATO it will shrink the pool of American capabilities available to assist European allies in a major crisis — a move that analysts say could further pressure European nations to accelerate their own defense buildup.
President Donald Trump has long pressed NATO allies to increase defense budgets, a push that has gained urgency during Russia’s four-year war against Ukraine. On Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told defense ministers at an Asian security conference: “The era of the United States subsidising the defence of wealthy nations is over. We need partners, not protectorates.”
The Czech case highlights a broader dilemma for European NATO members: reconciling Washington’s demands for higher spending with domestic fiscal constraints, all while facing a more assertive Russia and an unpredictable U.S. commitment to collective defense.