Opposition Accuses Babiš Government of Slashing Drought-Relief Funding

Former Environment Minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL) has accused Andrej Babiš's government of drastically cutting drought-relief funding: according to him, a record 26.8 billion crowns was allocated for this purpose last year, while the 2026 budget sets aside only half that amount — an amount the government now wants to top up with an additional 4 billion crowns. The cabinet rejects the accusations and cites its own spending figures.

The dispute was triggered by alarming statistics: according to the InterSucho portal, last week soil across 70% of Czech territory held less than a tenth of the water it is capable of retaining. This is close to the critical threshold beyond which plants simply lack sufficient moisture and begin to wilt. The most severe degree of drought was recorded across 57% of the country's territory, while more than a third of the land suffered from milder, though still noticeable, forms of drought.

Hladík called the government's response belated, noting that signs of soil drought and shortages of water in rivers and underground sources were already evident back in June — even as summer forecasts were extremely worrying. "I believe the government seriously underestimated the situation," he said during Monday's discussion on Czech Radio.

Environment Minister Igor Červený (Motorists party) disagrees. "We certainly haven't slept through this moment," he said, noting that the government had been preparing measures since March and discussing them with the regions long before the current media debate. According to him, his ministry, together with the State Environmental Fund, has allocated 3.4 billion crowns this year to combat drought, and plans to add more than 2 billion more next year.

Reservoirs, Wetlands and Interconnected Water Systems

At the same time, the government has revived the National Drought Coalition, which will be chaired by Babiš himself. He assured that the authorities are not focusing solely on building reservoirs, but plan to continue retaining water in the landscape, supporting wetlands, restoring watercourses, and linking water supply systems between regions — so that during droughts, water can be redirected to where it is needed most.

According to Babiš, previous governments involving ANO also addressed drought. "We implemented thousands of measures, and if we hadn't done so, some citizens would already be facing water problems today," he said. Since 2015, he noted, 21,000 projects have been supported at a total cost of 16.5 billion crowns.

The Ministry of Agriculture has three billion crowns available this year for water management measures, with four billion planned for next year. According to Agriculture Minister Martin Šebestyán (SPD), the funds will go toward linking water supply systems, small reservoirs and fish ponds, preparing major hydraulic engineering structures, and irrigating fields. In 2025, only 2.55 billion crowns were allocated for similar measures.

In addition, farmers will receive emergency drought assistance of more than 3.8 billion crowns from European and national sources in the first half of next year, along with relaxed conditions for receiving subsidies.

The opposition, meanwhile, claims the government is so far mostly just forming working groups. ODS chairman Martin Kupka, along with representatives of the Christian Democrats and the Pirates, accuses the authorities of "waking up too late." "It's not that politicians can command the wind and rain, but we need to prepare better for what the current climate change is bringing," he said. ODS plans to unveil its own proposals on Wednesday — dividing up large fields, planting windbreaks, modifying drainage systems, and building small hydraulic engineering structures.

Exact Figures Won't Be Available Until Next Year

Červený, for his part, insists the government has a solid foundation to work from, pointing to laws passed after the droughts of 2017 and 2018. The cabinet also plans to update its climate change adaptation plan and simplify permitting for water-retention structures.

The question of money remains the most contentious point. According to the Ministry of Finance, the exact total amount spent on drought relief this year will only be known after a consolidated assessment early next year, since individual measures are funded separately by different ministries from different sources. "We don't know what data your source is basing this on," ministry spokesman Štefan Fous said, commenting on Hladík's claim of falling spending this year.

Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture is allocating 1.5 billion crowns for water supply infrastructure, 300 million crowns for building or repairing small reservoirs and ponds, and 250 million crowns for larger ponds.

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Source: novinky.cz