By: Dr Vinko Gorenak
These days, U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement has caused a strong reaction – he declared that the U.S. will no longer defend NATO member states (the North Atlantic Alliance now has 32 members) that do not invest the agreed-upon amount in collective defence. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – essentially the head of the European government – responded rather quickly, presenting a plan for defence investments totalling €800 billion in the coming period. A portion of the funds is expected to come from European Union loans, while the rest will be contributed by NATO member states.
To refresh our memory, Slovenia joined NATO in 2004 and, at that time, made a written commitment to contribute 2% of its GDP annually to the alliance’s collective defence policy. This is also the required percentage for all European Union member states. However, the situation has evolved differently – Slovenia has never allocated the full 2% for defence in these two decades. To put it in plain terms: Slovenia has been cheating the alliance for over 20 years. In the context of statements from U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, we cannot ignore the insightful remark from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said: “500 million Europeans expect 300 million Americans to defend them against 140 million Russians.” Both Trump’s and Tusk’s statements are highly relevant, especially considering that Europe’s population significantly surpasses that of the U.S. It is therefore entirely logical that Europe must take responsibility for its own security.
Defence spending varies widely among NATO member states. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland increased its military budget to nearly 5% of GDP, while Slovenia lags near the bottom, contributing less than 1.5% of GDP. The pressing question now is: How will the Golob’s government react? The ruling coalition consists of the Gibanje Svoboda, traditionally anti-military Levica, and the SD parties.
The developments within Golob’s coalition regarding this issue are quite telling. The first to speak out seriously on the matter was Matej Tašner Vatovec, the leader of Levica’s parliamentary group, who openly stated that the coalition must find a way to circumvent these demands. From an international perspective, this is, of course, a catastrophic statement, as its author is not just anyone but a member of the ruling coalition in Slovenia. Equally significant are the statements of Matjaž Han, the leader of the Social Democrats, who are also part of the governing coalition. He hesitates, dodges, and twists his words, ultimately saying almost nothing about increasing defence spending. The remarks of the most responsible person, Robert Golob, follow a similar pattern – along the lines of “we will see, we will examine, perhaps it will be necessary,” and so on.
The reality is that the Golob’s government will have to increase defence spending. With regular elections just a year away, they can no longer stall – especially if the European Commission insists on higher defence contributions.
From the perspective of ordinary people, the statements made by the Social Democrats and Levica MPs are, of course, very appealing. They sell empty promises, claiming that we do not need tanks but hospitals, that funds should go toward social welfare and a better quality of life, that they stand for peace, not war, and so on.
However, now more than ever, the statement holds true that the right to a safe life is the most fundamental human right, one that takes precedence over all others. Without the right to a secure life, all other human rights lose their practical meaning.
At this point, the differences within the coalition between the Gibanje Svoboda, which bears the greatest responsibility for governing, the SD, and Levica are so significant that conflicts, bargaining, disputes, and possibly even the end of their coalition partnership are on the horizon. And that would not necessarily be a bad thing.
