Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said Wednesday his centre-right government would be steering away from austerity to focus on economic growth. “We managed to bring the deficit down to under 3% of gross domestic product,” Necas told reporters. He said the government now expects to increase public spending to €43.4 billion ($56.4 billion) in 2014, then €44.2 billion in 2015, and 44.7 billion the following year. He did not detail the spending, which marked a change in priorities for the recession-mired European Union member. The Czech Republic is looking at zero growth this year.