Slovenia plans referendum on increasing military budget: Details

The proposal was introduced by members of the Left Party and also received support from the Social Democrats and two smaller opposition parties.

The only coalition party opposing the referendum is the Freedom Party, led by Prime Minister Robert Golob.

It is known that the following question will be put to a vote: "Do you support increasing Slovenia’s defense spending to 3% of GDP annually, which amounts to approximately €2.1 billion, by 2030?"

However, the exact date of the referendum has not yet been set. To proceed, the parliament must adopt a separate resolution. In addition, the advisory referendum will not be legally binding.

In response to the decision of his coalition partners, Prime Minister Robert Golob announced his intention to launch a separate initiative - a referendum on Slovenia’s continued membership in NATO.

“There are only two paths: either we remain in the Alliance and pay membership fees, or we leave the Alliance. Everything else is populist deception of the public,” Golob stated.

For context, a few weeks ago, the annual NATO summit took place in The Hague. During the meeting, Alliance leaders committed to increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP within 10 years - a demand made by US President Donald Trump.

Under this plan, countries will allocate 3.5% of GDP to core defense needs, and an additional 1.5% to broader initiatives.