Czech Senate backs setting NATO spending target of 2%/GDP as law

FILE PHOTO: Czech Republic's Prime Minister Petr Fiala attends a news conference at a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech parliament's upper house approved a bill on Wednesday that will set the state's minimum defence spending at 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) from next year, matching its commitment to the NATO military alliance.

European countries have ramped up their defence expenditure since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which had turned up pressure on member states that had not been meeting spending commitments.