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Brussels – The Slovenian Minister of Finance Klemen Boštjančič believes that part of the cohesion funds could also be allocated for security. As he said today in Brussels on the sidelines of the meeting of EU finance ministers, who are discussing the financing of defense and security, the funds could be allocated, among other things, for infrastructure projects or projects for dual use.
“There is no question that we need to increase our security capacities. I consciously speak about security capacities, not just defense capacities,” he said. Security can also be contributed to by projects intended for dual civilian and military use, and not just military equipment, he said. According to him, this includes cyber and information security, as well as infrastructure.
“We are talking about expenditures to increase security capacities and within this we believe that part of the cohesion funds can also be directed towards this. In the end, part of the funds intended for infrastructure projects within cohesion could even be used for such projects,” he said.
The redirection of part of the cohesion funds is also envisaged by the European Commission’s plan presented last week, which is aimed at strengthening European security and defense, which could bring up to 800 billion euros of additional investments in this area.
It also includes the possibility of a four-year deviation from European budgetary rules and the establishment of a new financial instrument, in which up to 150 billion euros in loans would be available to members for defense investments. (March 11)