The Czech government plans to gradually increase defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2030, up from 2% now.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced the decision after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, saying “Show our partners they can count on us.”
“We must be prepared to defend ourselves,” he stressed, noting that the war in Ukraine was raging.
The budget will increase by 0.2 percentage points per year.
NATO has been a member of NATO since 1999, and the Czech Republic has recently launched several major military procurement projects. Plans include access to advanced air defense systems, German Leopard main combat vehicle and Swedish CV90 armored transport vehicle.
