“If the discussions in The Hague lead us to a consensus that it is necessary to spend up to 5% of GDP on defence, the Czech Republic is ready to support it,” Pavel told Czech journalists after meeting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday (21 May).

The move would go well beyond NATO’s current 2% baseline, which Czechia met for the first time last year. Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s (ODS, ECR) government has already committed to hitting 3% by 2030, but Pavel says allies may need to go further.

“When you add up all the needs of the armed forces and all the requirements that arise in the defence planning cycle for the years 2025 to 2029 and translate them into figures, they amount to somewhere between 3.5 and 3.7% of GDP,” Pavel said. “It’s similar in other countries,” he added (Euractiv.cz).

Moreover, the Czech government added that some units of the Czech Armed Forces still operate Soviet-era military equipment, which no longer meets modern combat requirements.

To address this, the military is moving forward with “the most extensive modernization in its history” (The Defense Post).

Sources: Euractive.cz, Radio Prague International, The Defense Post