Babiš on the Czech army concept to 2040: what we know so far

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is unhappy with the pace of work on the concept for developing the army to 2040. “It took a long time, yes, I don’t know what is so difficult about it,” he replied when Novinky asked why the discussion had been postponed and whether he was satisfied with the work of Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna (nominated by the SPD).

According to Babiš, the deadline slipped because the document has not yet been discussed by the National Security Council, and only after that will the government consider it. The cabinet will take up the concept at its next meeting on Monday.

What the prime minister wants

Babiš repeated his main objections: continue purchasing Israeli Spyder air defence systems, including Spyder All-in-one, and the anti-ballistic systems that Germany bought from Israel, and also develop counter-drone defence. His main demand is to increase the number of soldiers by at least three thousand a year.

How the preparation dragged on

Zůna first spoke about a new concept back in December last year, at his first press conference after his appointment, and called it one of the pressing tasks. At the end of March, Babiš said the minister would prepare the document by early June, and in April Zůna promised the Chamber of Deputies to present a draft for political discussion in May.

When the prime minister visited the ministry at the end of May, he was not satisfied with the draft presented and demanded revisions. What Babiš disliked most was the slow growth in army numbers: he considered the planned 32,000 troops by 2040 too small a figure.

The National Security Council first took up the concept in mid-June but did not finish the discussion. Babiš explained this by the abundance of other topics, while Zůna stressed that the aim was not to approve the document but to discuss its direction.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz