Reducing defense expenditures puts the Czechs on a collision course with America

The Czech Republic is on track to reduce its core defense expenditures to less than 2% of GDP this year, putting it on a collision course with US President Donald Trump and its NATO allies.

The proposed budget plan, published by the new populist coalition led by Prime Minister Andrej Babis, suggests a 900 million euro cut from the defense budget, compared to the previous government’s proposal for 2026, which Prague says is necessary to correct poor spending and protect other priorities.

“The previous proposal was full of fraud, so we had to deal with that,” Czech Foreign Minister Peter Masenka told reporters in Washington. He added: “We had to make some cuts, not only in defense, and if we do not do that, we will have to stop funding health care and social systems.”

But this means that Prague officially allocated only 1.8% of its budget to basic military spending, which is less than the 2% target that all NATO member states achieved last year, more than 10 years after it was set.

“This has nothing to do with our position in NATO,” Masenka said. The Minister of Defense assured me that we will reach 2% of GDP.” It is a move that may anger Washington and other NATO countries.

A NATO diplomat, who requested anonymity so he could speak freely like other participants in this report, said: “I think NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will allow it. “I don’t think he wants to give Trump an excuse to attack NATO.”

Since Trump’s return to power, Washington has pressured European countries to increase their defense spending, at a time when the United States is increasingly shifting its focus to the Western Hemisphere and the Indo-Pacific region.

Last year, the alliance agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, with 3.5% of this amount being spent on military equipment. But Prague is going in the opposite direction.

This is likely to anger other European governments, which also face difficult choices as they seek to bolster their defences, often at the expense of social spending. At the annual NATO summit held last year in The Hague, the allies expressed their anger towards Spain, after Madrid refused to formally commit to increasing spending by 5%.

A second NATO diplomat said: “After The Hague, we all believed that the 2% rate should be settled and not discussed.” He added: “We are all making efforts in this regard. “Staying at around 2% without plans to increase, or even to decline, will not help NATO become stronger.”

This also risks angering the US administration. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said when asked about Czech spending plans: “President Trump expects NATO allies to adhere to their pledge to spend 5% on defense.” The Czech government did not respond to a request for comment.

Under its draft budget, Prague committed to spending 2.1% of its economic output on defense. Babis seeks to keep defense spending above 2%, in part, by ending the highway linking Prague to the Polish border, which NATO does not consider military spending.

This is not the first time that NATO countries have attempted complex budget calculations. Last year, Italy introduced a new bridge to Sicily at a cost of 13.5 billion euros as a way to achieve the 5% target, of which 1.5% could be directed to “more flexible” dual-use military expenditures. Rome quickly withdrew this idea after a “reprimand” from the United States. About “Politico”

. The proposed budget plan indicates a 900 million euro cut from the defense budget compared to the previous government’s proposal for 2026, which Prague says is necessary to correct poor spending and protect other priorities.

. NATO agreed last year to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, with 3.5% of this amount being spent on military equipment. But Prague is going in the opposite direction.