US NATO envoy urges allies to ‘pull their weight’ after Czech defence spending cut

The United States ambassador to NATO said on Thursday that all allies must “pull their weight” after lawmakers in Czech Republic approved a 2026 budget that cuts defence spending.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s government, in power since December, pushed a revised budget through the lower house on Wednesday evening that reduced the defence ministry’s allocation to 154.8 billion crowns ($7.31 billion), or 1.73% of gross domestic product — lower than the previous proposal.

That figure falls short of NATO’s existing target of 2% of GDP for defence spending, a benchmark already in place before alliance members agreed at the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP plus another 1.5% on related security investments over the next decade.

The Czech finance ministry says total defence spending will reach 2.07% of GDP, but the country’s budget watchdog has warned that this includes funds allocated to other ministries — such as transport projects — which NATO may not recognise as defence expenditure.

“All Allies must pull their weight and honour The Hague Defense Commitment,” US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker wrote on X on Thursday while sharing a headline about the Czech budget vote.

“These numbers are not arbitrary. They are about meeting the moment — and the moment requires 5% as the standard. No excuses, no opt-outs,” he added.

European NATO members are facing pressure to boost defence spending amid the war between Russia and Ukraine and at the urging of US President Donald Trump.

Babiš, whose populist ANO party won last year’s election, said in February the country was “certainly not” on track to raise core defence spending to the 3.5% target, saying the government was prioritising other sectors such as healthcare.

The Czech budget watchdog on Thursday reiterated “strong doubts” that some spending counted as defence in the current budget would meet NATO’s criteria.

President Petr Pavel, a former NATO official, has warned that cuts to defence spending risk undermining trust among allies, though he has signalled he will not veto the budget.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Prague Nicholas Merrick said last week the Czech Republic could slip to the bottom of NATO’s defence-spending rankings.