Latest news with #RobertGolob
Euractiv
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
Slovenia to call consultative referendum on NATO membership
Slovenia's liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob said on Friday that he intends to call a consultative referendum on the country's NATO membership, following a surprise defeat in parliament over a related measure on defence spending. "There are only two ways: either we remain in NATO and pay membership, or we leave the alliance – everything else is populist deceit of the citizens of Slovenia," Golob said, according to a government statement. His referendum is expected to be formally tabled next week. Golob's gambit comes as part of a damage control effort in response to a successful initiative by The Left party, a junior partner in his centre-left coalition, pushing for a consultative referendum on increasing defence expenditure. In an unexpected outcome, Slovenian MPs approved The Left's proposal 46 to 42 on Friday. The referendum question will ask voters "whether they are in favour of Slovenia increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP annually in 2030, or approximately €2.1 billion". Golob's liberal Freedom Movement party voted against the initiative, while his junior coalition partners – the Social Democrats and The Left – sided with the conservative opposition to back it, deepening rifts within the ruling bloc. Discontent had been brewing since Slovenia signed up to higher NATO defence spending commitments at the NATO summit in The Hague on 24 June, which envisage members raising military expenditure to as much as 5% of GDP by 2035. Slovenia is among the few countries that failed to meet NATO's previous 2% GDP spending target in 2024, although Ljubljana stated it aimed to hit it by the end of 2025. Golob said his counter-referendum idea was intended to "dispel any doubt as to the true will of the people.' Although consultative referenda in Slovenia are not legally binding, the opposition, led by conservative SDS chief Janez Janša, has called on Golob to link a vote of confidence in the government to the outcome of the plebiscite, which Golob has dismissed. Janša, a close ally of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and a staunch Trump supporter, is said to have ambitions to return to power in parliamentary elections scheduled for 2026. (mm)
Irish Times
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
EU summit: ‘Like-minded' states should take action against Israel over Gaza, says Slovenian prime minister
Several 'like-minded' European countries should move ahead with their own sanctions against Israel if the European Union fails to agree to take action as a bloc, the prime minister of Slovenia has said. Moves to get the EU to exert political leverage on Israel to end to its military campaign in Gaza are to be blocked during a summit of the EU's 27 leaders in Brussels. Renewed focus has come on Europe's response to Israel's invasion of Gaza , which has levelled much of the besieged Palestinian territory and killed more than 55,000 Palestinians. 'It is high time that we do not show just solidarity, but we put some real pressure on the Israeli government,' Slovenian prime minister Robert Golob said. READ MORE The EU could no longer 'preach' about the rule of law, 'due to our inadequate response to the atrocities happening in Gaza,' he said. Spain , Ireland, Belgium , Slovenia and others have been pushing for firmer action from the EU to pressure Israel to stop blocking humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza. Some of the EU leaders in that camp have called for the suspension of an EU-Israel 'association agreement', which includes a free trade deal and access to research funding, or hardline Israeli ministers to be sanctioned. Germany, Italy, Austria and others advocate for the EU to instead raise its concerns through diplomatic channels with Israel. Speaking on Thursday, Mr Golob said Slovenia and other 'link-minded' countries should move forward on their own, if the EU failed to agree to take action as a bloc in the next two weeks. Spain's left-wing prime minister Pedro Sánchez said the EU had put together 18 packages of economic sanctions targeting Russia, since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The fact the bloc's trade deal with Israel had not been suspended pointed to 'double standards' in Europe, he said. Suspending the EU-Israel agreement would not improve the situation for Palestinians in Gaza, said Austrian chancellor Christian Stocker, who spoke with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu before the summit. 'The civilian population must not pay the price for Hamas' terror. Netanyahu has pledged to step up all efforts in this direction so that humanitarian aid can be delivered,' he said. The debate about Gaza is expected to be one of the most contentious parts of the EU summit, which will also cover the war in Ukraine, ongoing tariff negotiations involving the United States, the ceasefire between Iran and Israel and European defence spending. A joint statement set to be signed off by all EU leaders criticises the 'dire humanitarian situation' in Gaza. A draft of the text hits out at the number of civilian casualties and the levels of starvation in the war-torn Palestinian territory. Separately, Hungary's far right prime minister Viktor Orban has said he will continue to block Ukraine moving forward in its bid to join the EU. Brussels started what will be years-long negotiations with Kyiv last June, to consider accepting Ukraine into the 27-state bloc. However Hungary has since vetoed the process moving any further forward. Speaking before the summit, Mr Orban said he did not want Ukraine to advance into more detailed accession talks, while it remained at war with Russia. 'If we integrate [Ukraine] into the European Union, we would integrate the war and we would not like to be together in a community with one country who is at war and represents an imminent danger,' the populist leader said.
Barnama
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Barnama
Spain And Slovenia Call For Immediate Ceasefire In Gaza, Sanctions On Israel
MADRID, May 30 (Bernama-WAFA) -- Spain and Slovenia called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the imposition of sanctions on Israel, during a joint press conference held Thursday in Madrid by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Slovenian counterpart Robert Golob. According to Palestine News and Info Agency (WAFA), Sánchez stated that both governments agree on suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, imposing an arms embargo, and enacting sanctions against individual Israeli officials. He emphasised that Spain and Slovenia share a common stance on the humanitarian catastrophe facing the Palestinian people. He also reaffirmed that their formal recognition of the State of Palestine nearly a year ago was grounded in a commitment to human rights and international law.
Saba Yemen
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Spain & Slovenia demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza & sanctions on Israel
Madrid - Saba: Spain and Slovenia have called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the imposition of sanctions on Israel. This came during a joint press conference held by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Slovenian counterpart, Robert Golob, on Thursday in the Spanish capital, Madrid. Sánchez stated that the Spanish and Slovenian governments agree on suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, banning arms supplies to Israel, and imposing sanctions on individuals. He explained that the two countries share the same vision regarding the tragic situation faced by the Palestinian people. For his part, Golob affirmed that Slovenia, alongside Spain, will continue to defend the fundamental values of international law, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the swift delivery of humanitarian aid. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Bloomberg
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Slovenia Calls on NATO to Expand Its Defense Spending Terms
Slovenia and several NATO member states are seeking ways to expand the definition of defense spending as they attempt to meet US calls to allocate more funds on security, the nation's prime minister said. Like-minded alliance members aim to establish a unified methodology on defense spending in the coming weeks and present the proposal to Mark Rutte, the alliance's secretary general, Slovenian Premier Robert Golob said in an interview on the sidelines of European Political Community summit in Albania on Friday.
