The Czech Republic wants to enshrine the NATO target for defense spending of two percent of gross domestic product in law. The liberal-conservative cabinet in Prague submitted a corresponding bill to parliament on Wednesday.
This is an important step for the country’s security, said Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The target should be reached by 2025 at the latest. Defense spending of around 1.5 percent of gross domestic product is planned for the current year.
According to the government, this step is a reaction to the changed security situation caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Among other things, the purchase of 210 CV-90 armored personnel carriers from Sweden is planned.
A debate is currently underway within the western defense alliance about the two percent target. “Some allies are determined to make the current target of two percent a minimum,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently.
Another change in the law would give the Czech Ministry of Defense access to state databases to collect information on men and women who are fit to fight in the event of war. With the end of conscription at the end of 2004, drafting was also abolished in the Czech Republic. (dpa)
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