The Czech Republic will gradually increase its defence spending by at least 0.2 percent of GDP until 2030. The government of Petro Fiala decided to gradually increase defence spending from the current two percent of GDP at a meeting on Wednesday, 5 March 2025. It also approved the loan of oil from the state's emergency reserves due to the Druzhba oil pipeline supply shortage or a new draft law on a single monthly employer's report, which will significantly simplify administration for employers.
The Czech Republic must respond to the rapidly changing security situation in Europe and the world and to the increased demands on the security of the collective defence of European countries.
"Today the Government adopted a very important decision concerning the security of the Czech Republic. We know that the international situation is very complex. We are going through a change in the international order, there is a war going on not far from us, aggressive regimes are making no secret of their ambitions and we must be able to defend ourselves and respond to this situation by putting money and weapons on the table," stated Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
According to the Prime Minister, the Czech Government is not just paying lip service to words and appeals, but is responding with concrete steps. "Today we decided to gradually increase defence spending by 0.2 percent of GDP every year from next year until 2030. This means that from 2026 onwards, defence spending will be 2.2 per cent of GDP and in 2030 we will spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence." said Petr Fiala.
"Increasing the resources we put into defence is important from a security point of view. It is absolutely necessary and essential. It is an increase that we consider to be the minimum necessary. But it is also an opportunity for the Czech economy. It is an opportunity for our research and innovation, it is money that, if we spend it well, will benefit us not only in terms of security but also in terms of economic development," emphasised Prime Minister Fiala.
The government also approved request from Orlen Unipetrol for a loan of crude oil from the state emergency stocks. The reason is the interruption of oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline. The state will lend Orlen up to 330 000 tonnes of oil to cover the supply disruption to the Litvínov refinery. Fuel supplies to customers in the Czech Republic will not be affected by this outage.
"In this context, I would like to remind you that when we came into government, the Czech Republic was energy dependent on Russia. In the case of gas it was 97 percent, in the case of oil it was 50 percent. We got rid of this dependence in almost record time. As far as gas is concerned, we are not dependent on Russian gas at all, and as far as oil is concerned, we have not been dependent on Russia since this year. Thanks to the fact that we have made a huge effort to expand the TAL-PLUS pipeline, we are able to get oil to the Czech Republic via the Western route." reminded the Prime Minister. Thanks to the increase in the capacity of the TAL-PLUS pipeline, which is currently undergoing its final tests, it will be possible to fully cover the complete shutdown of the Druzhba pipeline. For details, see press release of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The Cabinet also approved a proposal for a new the Uniform Monthly Employer Reporting Actwhich will allow all the existing mandatory monthly reports of employers to the Czech Social Security Administration, the Czech Statistical Office, the Labour Office of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to be merged into a single one, which employers will enter into the integrated information system of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. This will substantially reduce the administrative burden associated with these reports and avoid double-tracking.
Better sharing of public sector data is also to be enabled by the government's Data Management and Controlled Access to Data Act. After its approval, data maintained in public administration information systems managed by public sector entities will be available and searchable in new public administration information systems, which will be the National Data Catalogue and the Geoportal of the Czech Republic. The necessary data will no longer have to be retrieved repeatedly and the scientific community and the professional public will be able to work better with the findings.
The government also decided on granting of the status of deposits of strategic importance for three deposits of lithium and other valuable metals in the area of Cínovec and Horní Slavkov. Lithium is also considered a critical raw material at EU level due to its high economic importance not only for electromobility and battery storage, but also for its role in the production of light alloys, ceramics and nuclear power. The status of a deposit of strategic importance will make it possible to simplify the permitting processes for mining at these sites. Mining of high-grade lithium ore, which is expected to start in 2027 and run for 25 years, will generate a significant source of revenue for public budgets from compulsory fees and other levies, estimated at CZK 3.155 billion per year. More in press release of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Government of the Czech Republic/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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