Czech 2025 budget deficit likely higher than target
The Czech central state budget is expected to exceed its planned deficit this year, Finance Minister Alena Schillerova said. The target was 241 billion crowns ($11.7 billion), but the deficit had already reached 266 billion crowns when she took office on December 15 and rose to 275 billion crowns just four days later.
“Meeting the planned deficit is unlikely,” Schillerova said on social media. This year’s fiscal gap had been expected to shrink from 271.4 billion crowns in 2024, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The new government, led by billionaire Andrej Babis and his populist ANO party, took office in December after winning October elections on promises to raise wages and increase spending. Analysts anticipate some fiscal loosening compared to the previous centre-right administration, which had kept the overall deficit below 3% of GDP, in line with EU rules.
Babis’ government is also planning to revise the 2026 budget, citing missing expenditures in the previous draft. The revised plan, expected in the second half of January, could push next year’s deficit above the previously proposed 286 billion crowns.
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