On 21 October 2026 in Berlin, President Petr Pavel said he does not intend to veto the government's draft budget for 2027, although he considers it not good.
President Petr Pavel said on 21 October 2026, during a working visit to Berlin, Germany, that he does not expect to veto the draft state budget for 2027, which the government approved that day. He described the draft as not good and risky for the future, but he also regards it as the government's instrument, which in his view must defend its priorities and the structure of the budget.
Pavel said he had signalled his view on the high deficit earlier. He distinguished between the budget and the act on budgetary responsibility, which he vetoed earlier: in his words, that act sets the rules for drawing up budgets over a much longer period, that is, also for subsequent governments.
Finance Minister Alena Schillerová said after the cabinet meeting that next year the state will run a deficit of CZK 386 billion. Compared with the original draft of the Ministry of Finance from the end of August, the planned deficit fell by CZK 3 billion. According to reports, it would be the second highest deficit in Czech history after 2021, when it reached CZK 419.7 billion. For 2026 the approved deficit is CZK 310 billion.
The draft is criticised by opposition parties and, according to iDNES.cz, also by the Národní rozpočtová rada. Zdeněk Hřib, chairman of the Czech Pirate Party, said these are debts that will not disappear. Schillerová described the budget as record-breaking in investment and pro-growth, and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš defended it in the Chamber of Deputies.
Chronology
- — President Petr Pavel said during a visit to Berlin that he does not intend to veto the government's draft state budget, although he called it not good. ČTK / České noviny FORUM 24