Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and Parliament Speaker Richard Rasi (Hlas-SD) agreed on the need for political discussion on increasing defence spending.
Next week, the president will convene a round table with party leaders. The round table will take place ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, where alliance members are expected to agree to raise the target level of defence spending from 2% to 5% of GDP.
Slovak opposition parties SaS and KDH have already confirmed their participation in the round table. KDH leader Milan Majerský said that all parties should participate in the discussion of such a serious issue, but rejected a sharp increase in defence spending.
On the other hand, SaS leader Branislav Gröhling added that the decision should not be left to party leaders and called for the creation of an expert group to professionally resolve the issue.
Slovakia’s position on increasing defence spending has long been unclear. Fico said last Sunday that a rapid increase in defence spending is unrealistic, despite the current geopolitical tensions.
According to the prime minister, an increase in defence spending is possible, but it should be gradual.
At the same time, he noted that part of military investment should also benefit civilian infrastructure. “If the proposal is reasonable and provides for dual-use investments, we are ready to consider it. But if someone is counting on a sharp increase — from two to five per cent per year — that will not happen,” Fico emphasised at a press conference.
He also suggested that President Peter Pellegrini reconvene a round table of representatives from all parliamentary parties. The prime minister stressed that the issue of defence funding goes beyond a single electoral cycle and requires broad consensus.
Fico recalled that the initiative to increase defence spending stems from NATO requirements and is linked to growing tensions between Europe and the United States, especially in the context of American calls for the EU to increase its contribution to the alliance.
