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Slovenia insists on plan to increase defense spending to two percent by 2030

by AI | 03.Feb 2025 | Europe in brief AI

According to Prime Minister Robert Golob, Slovenia will at least for now stick to the plan to achieve the target of two percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Dove. Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA

Brussels – The Slovenian government is currently not considering changing the plan to increase defense spending to two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, said Prime Minister Robert Golob upon arrival at the informal meeting of EU leaders in Brussels, which focuses on defense.

“Slovenia has had a very clear program for some time on how to meet its existing commitments to NATO, namely to reach two percent by 2030. So far, this is the only commitment we have. Speculations about what the spending should be are not so simple. It is easy for some politicians to throw percentages into the air, but in the end that means billions have to be taken from somewhere,” said Golob regarding calls to increase defense spending to more than two percent of GDP.

He added that the government is currently satisfied with what is set in the budgets for this year and next year, as it is on the way to achieving the goal set for 2030. According to the Ministry of Defense’s data from the end of last year, defense spending for 2025 is estimated at 1.53 percent of GDP, and for 2026 at 1.6 percent of GDP.

The focus of the informal talks of the EU member states’ leaders in Brussels is the strengthening of defense capabilities and their financing at the EU level. According to Golob, Slovenia is primarily “betting” on the military industry of the future with advanced technologies such as space technologies and cybersecurity, and above all on air defense.

In light of calls to change the funding policy of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to allocate more funds for security and defense, he stressed that the EIB was established for other purposes. (February 3)