Prague, Feb 22 (CTK) – The Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL, a junior coalition government member) want the Czech Republic to fulfil its NATO commitment and spend 2 percent of its GDP on national defence annually by 2022, the party leaders told journalists yesterday.
Since the defence spending accounts for roughly 1.1 percent of GDP at present, the government should be increasing the payment by 0.2 percent annually, they added.
The opposition Civic Democratic Party (ODS) came up with a similar proposal earlier this week.
The government has agreed that it will reach the 2 percent of GDP on national defence by 2025.
The Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) say the objective is not ambitious enough.
“This government coalition cannot pass its responsibility to other governments by speaking about a decade, which means by 2025. We have to accept the responsibility and formulate this for the next election term,” the deputy chairman of the Chamber of Deputies defence committee, Ivan Gabal (KDU-CSL), said.
The party wants the government to pledge to reach the 2 percent of defence spending within five years.
It could unveil it at the NATO summit this year, to be attended by U.S President Donald Trump.
He has made it clear that tougher than the previous administration, he will insist on European allies fulfilling their NATO commitments in the sphere of defence spending.
The KDU-CSL says the defence spending should be raised by roughly 11-12 billion crowns a year.
Gabal said the conditions were favourable for this.
“Recent polls have clearly revealed that the public supports the defence spending. We have all we need. We have an economic growth, we have a public support,” Gabal said.
The ODS wants the raised defence spending to be enacted by law. The KDU-CSL is not envisaging the idea.
Gabal said the pact of the Czech Republic’ entering NATO that included the 2 percent commitment had the character of law.
“This has the character of a law, but still we do not fulfil it. I am of the view that a law can neither replace nor substitute the political will,” Gabal said.
“Either we will have the political will to fulfil our allied commitments, or not ,” Gabal said.
($1=25.644 crowns)
