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Brussels – The White Paper on the Future of European Defense is heading in the right direction according to Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob. Slovenia is expected to take advantage of both European loans and the possibility of deviating from the union’s budgetary rules for defense investment needs, he said ahead of the EU summit in Brussels. He agreed with the assessment that Russia poses a threat.
“Very favorable loans are foreseen for these purposes, truly favorable, and of course Slovenia will strive to obtain these loans,” he said.
According to the Prime Minister’s announcements, the government will also request the triggering of a national opt-out clause that will allow member states to increase defense expenditure by up to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) without breaching European budgetary rules.
He announced that the government will prepare a plan, including concrete measures and the allocation of funds, by April and present it in the National Assembly.
He also pointed out that the white paper on defense identifies key areas for priority investment, including cyber security, the use of artificial intelligence, advanced technologies, drones, and counter-drone protection.
He also agreed with the European Commission’s assessment that Russia poses a threat to the EU. “It is certainly a situation where the United Nations Charter is violated, and one sovereign state attacks another sovereign state, which represents a threat to the global order in general,” he explained. (March 20)