The Czech government formally fulfilled its commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence, in line with NATO’s minimum target, the country’s defence ministry reported.
Earlier, US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to withdraw defence from Europe if NATO members did not increase military spending. Of the alliance’s thirty-two members, at least 24 have met the spending target, up from six in 2021.
In 2024, the Ministry of Defence allocated CZK 166.8 billion (about €6.6 billion) for defence spending, equivalent to 2.09% of the country’s GDP, according to Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová.
For the first time in 20 years, the Czech Republic will fulfil its allied commitment to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence. (…) We are giving defence what it should have had long ago.
Černochová stated that the target achieved should be “a floor, not a ceiling.” Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura also reiterated his confidence in the country’s ability to meet NATO standards.
At this moment, we can confidently say, and we do not have to worry that a methodological examination would turn out badly, that the Czech Republic has fulfilled its allied commitment. Defence spending in 2024 exceeded 2% of GDP.
The final review of NATO spending is expected to take place in the second quarter of the year, when the alliance estimates official GDP figures.
