Slovenia will not hold an advisory referendum on increasing defense spending to meet the new NATO standard. Consequently, the referendum on NATO membership, which Prime Minister Robert Golob linked to it, is also unlikely to proceed.
Two coalition partners of Prime Minister Golob, to his dismay, helped the referendum on increasing defense spending to a majority earlier this month. Golob then threatened a referendum on NATO membership, arguing that one was not possible without the other. “There are only two options: either we stay with NATO and pay the membership, or we leave the alliance,” the Prime Minister wrote on X.
The center-left government party SD changed its position on Friday and no longer voted with the proponents of the referendum on the defense budget. This means that the referendum on NATO membership is also unlikely to proceed.
NATO member states agreed during the summit in The Hague at the end of June that 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) should go to defense. This is a significant increase for Slovenia. The country did not even meet the previous standard of 2 percent.
No country has ever completely left NATO. However, countries have (temporarily) reduced their contributions and commitment to NATO. For example, France and Greece previously withdrew militarily, only to become full members again.