Chamber decides on Babiš, US criticizes defense spending

05.03.2026 18:00 HotInfo 12

The Czech Chamber of Deputies decided on Thursday, March 5, 2026, on the extradition of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and lower house speaker Tomio Okamura for criminal prosecution. At the extraordinary session, Babiš personally appealed to the deputies not to extradite him, repeating that the prosecution in the Stork's Nest case is politically motivated and calling it part of the post-November cartel.

The vote took place in a tense atmosphere. The governing coalition had sufficient support to protect the prime minister from extradition, with signals indicating that deputies would vote against the court's request. The opposition, on the other hand, argued that the decision should be in the hands of independent courts, not a political majority. During the session, an incident also occurred when Speaker Okamura removed deputy Petr Fiala from the plenary chamber.

At the same time, the government had to defend itself against sharp criticism from the United States. The American ambassador to Czechia criticized Babiš's government for insufficient defense spending that fails to meet NATO commitments. Washington sent a clear signal that Czechia could face sanctions for spending below the two-percent-of-GDP threshold on defense. The prime minister was also intensively dealing with the evacuation of Czech citizens from the Middle East, personally contacting airlines and organizing repatriation flights. A communications expert criticized the way the government handled crisis communication during the escalation of the conflict.