LJUBLJANA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The Slovenian government on Thursday approved higher budget spending plans for the coming years, with increased allocations aimed primarily at strengthening defense investment.
According to a government statement, planned expenditure for 2026 was raised to 18.4 billion euros (20.9 billion U.S. dollars), up from the 17.7 billion euros (20.2 billion dollars) envisaged under the previous government's plan. The government said the increase would help Slovenia meet its target of raising defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The spending ceiling for 2027 was also increased to 18.4 billion euros (20.9 billion dollars), 309 million euros (352 million dollars) higher than previously planned.
Slovenia is expected to spend about 1.6 percent of GDP on defense this year, below NATO's current benchmark of 2 percent. Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who took office in June following the general election, has pledged to gradually increase defense spending to meet NATO's target of allocating 3.5 percent of GDP to core defense by 2035. ■