The Czech military is confronting a critical shortage of soldiers, a challenge that defence officials say is more urgent than funding issues, Euractiv reports.
Defence Minister Jana Černochová and Chief of the General Staff Karel Řehka have raised alarms about the low recruitment levels, which are insufficient to meet the country’s defence needs and NATO commitments.
The Czech army currently has around 23,600 soldiers, far below the target of 30,000 by 2030 and even further from the new defence plan’s goal of 37,500 troops. Last year’s recruitment efforts resulted in a net gain of only 176 soldiers, highlighting the difficulty of attracting new personnel.
At a meeting of the Czech army command on Tuesday, Černochová acknowledged that the military lacks both professional and reserve personnel, despite gradual increases in their numbers.
Unfortunately, public interest is not as high as we would like or, more importantly, as we need. We do not have enough professionals or reserve personnel, even though their numbers are slowly increasing. And unfortunately, there is no easy solution to quickly and simply address this issue.
Meanwhile, Řehka emphasised the need for systemic changes to address the recruitment crisis. He stressed that the army must expand by 14,000 soldiers—a 60% increase—over the next decade to meet defence commitments.
If a system doesn’t work, it needs to be changed.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala, however, noted that increasing military funding is a long-term process, with annual increases of 0.2% of GDP considered realistic. In 2024, the Czech Republic met its NATO defence spending target of 2% of GDP for the first time in its modern history.
