00:00Czech lawmakers approved the country's 2026 budget on Wednesday,
00:05which falls short of the 5% NATO target for defense spending,
00:09despite pressure from the United States and the country's own president.
00:13The legislators loyal to the new government of Populist Prime Minister Andrei Babes
00:18voted to allocate just over 1.7% of gross domestic product for the defense ministry.
00:25The Czech spending would inch above 2% only if funding for defense-related projects
00:30at other ministries is factored in.
00:32It was not clear if that would be acceptable to the alliance,
00:36which the Czech Republic has been a member of since 1999.
00:40The new government of Andrei Babes says the state budget is strained
00:45and it has other priorities, including health care.
00:48President Petr Pavel had urged lawmakers to increase the budget
00:51and noted the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine,
00:54but still agreed to sign the budget once it was passed.
Comments