Slovenia pledges to increase defence spending

Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar assured visiting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Monday that the Slovenian government would gradually increase defence spending as part of its commitments to NATO.

Cerar made such pledges when meeting the alliance's highest political official, according to the news report by the STA (Slovenian Press Agency) on Monday.

"One of the tasks of Slovenia as a responsible NATO member is to increase defence spending in line with its abilities," said Cerar after meeting Stoltenberg in Ljubljana.

The country's defence budget has fallen to just under 1 percent of GDP from a high of over 1.62 percent of GDP in 2010 as shrinking budget revenues from the economic crisis forced governments to redirect spending to other areas, including welfare.

While this is understandable, the rise in international security threats means NATO members must respond by increasing spending, said Stoltenberg.

Cerar said that given the economic upturn, Slovenia planned to prevent cuts in the defence budget this year and the next, before starting to gradually bring up spending again in 2017.

The STA report said the Cerar's meeting with Stoltenberg focused on the topics for the next NATO summit in Warsaw, which will discuss future cooperation among the allies, and on Slovenia's commitments to NATO.

The Slovenian prime minister also urged that Montenegro be issued an invitation to join NATO by the end of the year as part of efforts to shore up stability in Southeast Europe. Endit