Slovenia Aims to Invest €780 Million in Defence Over Next 6 Years

By , 04 Jun 2020, 11:29 AM Politics
Slovenia Aims to Invest €780 Million in Defence Over Next 6 Years Slovenska vojska - Slovenian Armed Forces, Facebook

Share this:

STA, 3 June 2020 - Defence Minister Matej Tonin set out a plan to invest EUR 780 million in defence over the next six years as he joined President Borut Pahor for the viewing of a military exercise on Wednesday.

Tonin and Pahor as the supreme commander were hosted by the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) for a presentation within a series of exercises dubbed Leap 2020 in Babno Polje in the south of the country.

The minister commented that the name of the exercise suggested the SAF's challenge was to "leap into a new reality, to be able to confront the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, and, above all, to be able to act in aggravated conditions".

The exercise is special in that it is not being held in the country's main military exercise grounds, but in local communities, which Tonin said welcomed SAF members well. Such a format of the exercise is meant to bring the army closer to people.

Tonin repeated his pledge to work for amendments to the defence act and defence investment act, with talks under way with opposition deputy factions on the former, which requires a two-thirds majority in parliament to pass.

The gist of amendments to the defence act is to tackle the status of soldiers beyond the age of 45 when under the current law they are required to retire. "The best promoter of the SAF is a satisfied soldier," said Tonin.

He was happy to announce that that the ministries of defence and finance had agreed the final wording of the bill amending the defence investment act that foresees EUR 780 million investment in SAF over the next six years. Tonin will now seek the coalition's support for the bill.

Pahor noted that the needed major investments in the army could not be planned over a single government term, declaring that the planned investment would "allow the SAF to continue as the military pillar of Slovenia's security".

The president underscored that Slovenia being a safe country was one of the major achievements since independence. He said Slovenia had no enemies in the world, but had many friends and was acquiring new ones.

"It's an achievement that is the merit of the security system," the president said, noting the contribution of the police force and other factors aside the army.

The exercise, which also involved overflights by US F16 fighter jets and Slovenian Pilatus aircraft, was also viewed by other senior guests, including US Ambassador Lynda C. Blanchard, the chair of the parliamentary Defence Committee Samo Bevk and Interior Ministry State Secretary Franc Kangler.

The Leap 2020 exercise has been running since 11 May at various locations across the country. A total of 2,500 service members will have been involved in the tactical drills until 19 June.

Photo galleries and videos

This websie uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.