SNS Blasts President for Agreeing to Increased Defence Spending

Bratislava, 25 June (TASR) - The coalition's SNS party lambasted Slovak President Peter Pellegrini for agreeing to the NATO commitment of increasing defense spending to five percent of GDP and warned that such a commitment, signed by the President, could cause serious economic problems for Slovakia’s economy by 2035, TASR learnt from SNS chair Andrej Danko's spokesperson Zuzana Skopcova on Wednesday. According to the party, this percentage needs to be reduced within the next decade. „The Spanish Prime Minister managed to delay the commitment to allocate five percent of GDP to defense investment. Slovakia, however, failed to use this opportunity or its diplomatic contacts to have Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) prepare conditions in advance for the President's negotiations,” she said. The party also stated that the Slovak government, led by Robert Fico (Smer-SD), did not make full use of the options available under international law. SNS voiced hope that this commitment would not be fulfilled by Slovakia in the future. „It’s a great pity that the President did not stand alongside the Spanish Prime Minister, who negotiated a significant concession for Spain,” the statement said. SNS claimed it had expected more political courage from Slovak representatives on the international stage. It explicitly disagrees with the commitment and will do everything it can to reduce it in the future. Earlier on Wednesday, NATO member states agreed to increase their defense spending to five percent of GDP by 2035. mf