01.07.2026, Prague.
The government of the Czech Republic, led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, did not want to include the country’s President Petr Pavel in the delegation to the NATO summit due to disagreements over the military budget and aid to Ukraine, but Pavel achieved this through the constitutional court. At the same time, the contradictions have not been resolved, and they are so significant that Babiš and Pavel will travel to the summit on different planes, Rossa Primavera News Agency‘s Europe Desk notes.
Initially, it was decided that the Czech delegation to the NATO summit, which will take place in July in Ankara, would be headed by Prime Minister Babiš. The delegation also included Defense Minister Jaromír Zuna and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka. The president’s participation was not envisaged, but Pavel insisted on it and appealed to the constitutional court, which ruled in his favor. Complying with the court’s decision, the Czech government included Pavel in the delegation. He will fly there separately from Babiš and other government members.
The government’s reluctance to see Pavel at the NATO summit is caused by disagreements between the president and the cabinet on the issue of military spending, which will be a key topic at the alliance meeting. Pavel insists on its substantial increase. The government, while not renouncing its commitments to NATO, takes a much more restrained position on this issue.
Furthermore, Pavel consistently takes a pro-Ukrainian position, while the cabinet is more focused on national interests rather than on aiding the Kiev regime. For instance, Babiš has repeatedly stated that Prague will not spend state budget funds on aid to Ukraine, as they are needed by the Czech Republic and its people. In particular, the government refused the country’s financial participation in the Czech initiative to purchase artillery shells for Kiev, which displeased the president. In addition, the government secured the republic’s exemption from participating in providing an interest-free loan for Ukraine in the amount of €90 billion, which will be allocated from the EU budget for 2026–2027.
The Czech government also disagrees with Germany’s proposal for NATO countries to allocate €70 billion annually to Ukraine.
“This summit is extremely important in terms of the commitments proposed by Germany, according to which NATO countries should pay Ukraine 70 billion euros annually. We certainly cannot agree to this,” he stated on June 29 after a cabinet meeting.
Understanding that Pavel will promote his militaristic position at the summit, which does not align with the government’s course, Babiš still hopes that the president will refuse to participate.
“And it would be best if the president did not insist on his participation,” he said, while promising that “next year the president will be able to represent the Czech Republic at the NATO summit.”
However, it is unlikely that Pavel will refuse to participate, especially after he achieved this through the constitutional court. At the same time, the disagreements between him and the government over military spending and aid to Kiev will not be resolved. As a result, at the NATO summit, the prime minister and the president may find themselves on opposite sides of the barricades: Babiš will seek to limit the Czech Republic’s involvement in military aid to Ukraine, while Pavel will seek to increase it.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
