Rushing freedom with a defense resolution before NATO’s top
Despite the opposition of the Left and the opposition, the National Assembly before the summit of the NATO Association adopted a political resolution on the general long -term program of development and equipping the Slovenian Armed Forces by 2040, which envisages that in 2030 the state would devote three percent of gross domestic product to defense.
The adoption of the resolution, opposed to the smallest coalition partner – this week also proposed a call for a consultative referendum on defense expenditure – will not trigger a government crisis. Representatives of the largest government party of Freedom movement unanimously claimed that they respect the Left’s views on defense expenditure.
Martin Premkchairman of the Freedom Defense Committee, said that Slovenia has decided with the resolution to devote three percent of gross domestic product to defense, five percent, as much as new obligations within NATO, are « completely unrealistic » for Slovenia.
In addition, adopting a resolution is not an example of a transparent process of adopting a political act, which politically commits itself to a significant increase in defense spending. At the beginning of April, the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Foreign Policy adopted the decision to conduct a « broad and inclusive debate » when preparing a proposal for a resolution for the increase of public arms expenditures.
The resolution was 8 in May on the e-democracy portal, a « public debate », in which the interested public had the opportunity to present comments, lasted only two weeks. Just one week after the publication on the aforementioned portal, a consultation was organized in the National Council, with only state officials and one professor of defense from the Ljubljana FDV.
At the end of May, the government of Robert Golob confirmed the unchanged text of the resolution. In the National Assembly, the coalition hurried, and instead of ranking the resolution at the regular July session, which will begin on July 7, the coalition MPs first confirmed it at the home committee on Monday, and yesterday at an extraordinary meeting of the National Assembly.
Janša about a shopping list
The resolution, however, did not receive the support of the economic and social council, as it disturbed both the employer and the work side that it was unclear where the government would take money for an exceptional increase in defense spending. The resolution envisages raising the funds for defense and security policy to two percent of GDP by the end of this year, and then gradually to three percent of GDP by 2030. According to GDP growth projections prepared by the Office for Macroeconomic Analyzes and Development, Slovenia would spend as much as 2.62 billion euros for defense by 2030.
The SDS champion also overwhelmed the resolution Janez Janša: “The resolution is a unique document under the sun. In contrast to the gradual increase in the share of GDP for equipment, there is no divided key goal or information about how many soldiers of the active and reserve composition will be able to equip these billions every year. The resolution without this key information is therefore read primarily as a shopping list. «
Although they proposed a consultative referendum in Levica, the Levica referendum on the increase of weapons expenses, but this did not delay the decision -making decision. « I hope that the National Assembly, as a whole in these complex times, when a lot of hysteria, would be able to sufficiently a democratic sense that he would ask citizens about such an important question as the duplication of weapons expenses, » said the leader of the Left deputy group yesterday Matej Tašner Vatovec. But there is no sufficient parliamentary support for the referendum.
