‘Disappointing’ Defence Spending: US Envoy Warns Czech Republic Over NATO Target

The United States has again criticised the Czech Republic over its defence spending, with US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker warning Prague that it is falling behind other alliance members. The remarks came on Friday as Whitaker met Prime Minister Andrej Babis and pressed the Czech government to increase military spending in line with NATO commitments.

“It is disappointing to see that it has not made more progress towards meeting the Hague Defence Commitment,” Whitaker told a defence conference in Prague. He said the Czech Republic was “trending towards the bottom” of NATO when it comes to defence spending and said he had delivered the same message directly to Czech officials.

The criticism comes after the Czech government reduced core defence spending for 2026 to around 1.7 to 1.8 per cent of GDP. NATO's minimum benchmark is 2 per cent, meaning Prague is expected to miss that threshold again this year. Babis has said the country will reach 2 per cent in 2027.

The Czech government has argued that its broader defence related spending is higher when allocations across other ministries are included. Earlier budget figures put total defence spending at about 185 billion Czech koruna, or roughly 2.07 per cent of GDP, although the lower core allocation remains a point of concern for Washington and NATO.

Babis defended the government's position after meeting Whitaker, saying Prague was dealing with limited resources while also needing to fund infrastructure and other domestic priorities. His government has pledged to increase the defence budget by around 36 billion Czech koruna next year to reach the 2 per cent level.

The dispute is also about NATO's new 5 per cent spending commitment. At the 2025 Hague summit, alliance members agreed to reach 5 per cent of GDP on defence and security related spending by 2035. Of this, 3.5 per cent is earmarked for core defence requirements, while another 1.5 per cent is intended for defence related infrastructure and other security spending.

Whitaker had previously warned that the new target required all allies to “pull their weight”. On Friday, he again stressed that Washington remains committed to NATO and the defence of allied territory.

“The United States remains committed to NATO and defending every inch of allied territory,” Whitaker said. “But we expect our allies to step up and join us and equalise with the United States.”

The issue has also exposed differences within Babis' coalition. The Freedom and Direct Democracy party, which is part of the governing coalition, has called for lower defence spending, while Finance Minister Alena Schillerova has described the 5 per cent target as “unrealistic”. President Petr Pavel, meanwhile, has previously urged higher defence allocations.