Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico believes that spending more than 2% of GDP on defense is unrealistic for the country.
“The American president convinced NATO countries that they should increase defense spending from 2% of GDP to 5% of GDP over a period of 10 years. I don't think this is realistic“, Fico said. A video clip of the prime minister's statement was posted on his Facebook page.
Fico explained that he considers this amount too high, which the country will not be able to allocate for defense needs in such difficult times, and noted that the Slovak authorities are consolidating the state budget. He also pointed to the economic problems in European countries. “To claim that we will spend not 2% of GDP, but 3-4% of GDP on defense, is, in my opinion, unrealistic“, the Prime Minister emphasized.