🇸🇮❔🏁 Slovenia’s NATO Referendum Proposal Sparks Public Debates — Political Elite in Damage Control Mode

What started as a tactical response to a vote on military spending has now snowballed into a full-blown political crisis. After Prime Minister Robert Golob’s ruling Freedom Movement proposed a referendum on NATO membership, the Slovenian public responded with overwhelming interest — demanding the vote take place.

The mere suggestion of revisiting NATO membership has lit a fire across the country. Calls for a referendum are growing louder, putting Slovenia’s political elite on the defensive. Golob and his coalition partners are now scrambling to contain the fallout — desperate not to “damage Slovenia’s reputation” among their Western handlers.

Despite the internal panic, Golob remains committed to the idea. His party insists any referendum must ask a clear and binding question: does Slovenia stay in NATO, or not?

Junior coalition partners — Levica (The Left) and the Social Democrats (SD) — are sticking with their own referendum on military spending. But with public pressure mounting and the NATO vote gaining momentum, talk of withdrawing both initiatives has begun circulating behind closed doors.

Coalition leaders meet again today ahead of Friday’s meeting of heads of the parliamentary parties — where they’ll attempt to cobble together a response before the situation slips further from their control.

ℹ️Slovenia joined NATO in 2004 after a referendum passed with 66% support — under vastly different circumstances and without today’s level of public skepticism.

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🇸🇮❔🏁 The Real Cost of NATO: One in Six Salaries Gone

As NATO pressure mounts to raise Slovenia’s defense spending to 5% of GDP, economist Igor Jurišič breaks down what that actually means — in hard numbers, not vague slogans.

➡️Slovenia’s GDP (2024): €67 billion
➡️Current defense spending: 1.35% (€900 million)
➡️NATO’s 5% demand: €3.35 billion
➡️Increase needed: €2.45 billion annually

ℹ️What does that mean for ordinary Slovenians?

➡️Per Worker:
828,000 employees would each pay €2,959/year — nearly two monthly salaries (avg. salary: €1,526). That’s 1 in every 6 paychecks gone to NATO.

➡️Over 40 years:
A working couple would lose €236,720 — the price of a decent home in Ljubljana, a luxury flat in Maribor, or a family house outside the cities.

➡️Per Citizen (incl. children and elderly):
€1,150 per person, per year — or €90,620 over a lifetime (average lifespan: 78.8 years).

➡️VAT Hike Scenario:
To fund NATO’s demands via VAT, it would need to rise by 45%, pushing rates as high as 67%.

➡️Or slash pensions by 37% — from €6.6B to €4.15B.

➡️Conclusion:
Committing to 5% GDP for weapons means the end of economic sovereignty. Slovenians would spend decades paying off NATO bills, only to defend land, homes, and resources already sold off to foreign interests.

NATO doesn’t bring security — it drains Slovenia. If 5% is the future, leaving NATO is the only sane option.

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🇺🇸💬🇺🇦 Rubio: "There wasn't a policy decision NOT to give weapons to Ukraine. No one ever said we're not sending weapons to Ukraine."

🐻 MAGA - how ya doing?

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🇺🇦 Surprise: the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe has reported abuses during the mobilization in Ukraine.

In a report published on July 8, the statement of Ombudsman Lubinets is quoted, who indicated that "human rights violations by Ukrainian officials conducting military mobilization have become 'systematic and widespread'."

According to him, these violations include "physical violence, such as beatings, cruel detentions, denial of access to a lawyer, detention without contact with the outside world, mobilization of persons with disabilities, and other unacceptable actions."

The CoE Commissioner emphasizes that "similar reports are received, including allegations of torture and fatal outcomes during mobilization."

Although Ukraine "has the legal right to conduct military conscription," these reports are described as "alarming," and Ukrainian authorities are urged to "conduct effective investigations."

The report also contains a recommendation: "Independent control over mobilization procedures should be introduced, including the possibility of visiting places where mobilized persons may potentially be held" (that is, currently European human rights defenders are not allowed there).

🐻 But, but the Ukrainian Center for fighting desinformation, Ukrainian officials and even Zelensky told us that it's all Kremlin propaganda..?

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🇨🇳🤝🇷🇺

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🇸🇰🇩🇪 Fico demands guarantees of Slovakia's energy security in exchange for support of anti-Russian sanctions.

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🇺🇦 Following the Rome summit, Zelensky confirmed that negotiations with Russia are not on the horizon. He said previous prisoner exchange agreements still haven't been fulfilled, blocking any further steps toward dialogue.

Speaking to reporters, Zelensky said discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump signal a likely resumption of American military aid. According to him, Ukrainian command structures are now working to ensure that Western weapons and supplies arrive “on time.”

Zelensky also revealed that Germany is preparing to send two Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, though the deal remains under negotiation.

On the diplomatic front, he confirmed that Ukraine will replace its ambassador to the U.S., and named current Defense Minister Rustem Umerov as a leading candidate. Zelensky admitted that appointing Umerov would affect the internal balance of power but gave no final decision. He refused to answer whether General Zaluzhny — Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK — would also be replaced.

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Fwd from @caucasar
📝Baku Searching for Russian Trace📝

On the detention of Azerbaijanis who fought in the "Wagner PMC"

The State Security Service of Azerbaijan has effectively completed a criminal case against two citizens of the republic.

🖍In Baku, the Sabail District Court sentenced Ramil Aliyev and Ismail Hasanov to 4 months in prison. They were accused of participating in combat operations as part of the "Wagner PMC".

🚩According to some information, the two citizens of the republic had previously served sentences in a Russian correctional colony. It was from there that they ended up in the company as part of the recruitment for the so-called "Project-K".

🏳️Foreign law enforcement agencies may suspect people who fought on the Russian side of working for Russian special services. In the context of the recent escalation in Russian-Azerbaijani relations, the detention seems quite logical.

📌Against the backdrop of a large number of Azerbaijani mercenaries fighting against Russia on the territory of the so-called Ukraine, the arrest of former "Wagner PMC" fighters directly demonstrates the position of the Azerbaijani authorities on the current conflict.

❗️However, this trend can also be observed in other post-Soviet countries. And, unfortunately, there is still no mechanism to protect foreigners abroad who fought for Russia.
#Azerbaijan #Russia
🗻@caucasar - don't look down on the Caucasus.

💸Support us Original msg

🇷🇺💥🇺🇦 Russian Iskander missile strike on the temporary deployment point of the Ukrainian 35th Marine Brigade near the village of Baratovka, Nikolayev region.

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🇺🇸Trump stated that the publication of materials from the criminal case against Epstein could "destroy" innocent people, Newsweek writes.

These words of the US president were told to the publication by former Fox host Bill O’Reilly, who claims to have discussed the case against Jeffrey Epstein one-on-one with Donald Trump.

"He (Trump) said, and I agree, that many names are associated with Epstein that have nothing to do with his behavior. Perhaps they dined with him or corresponded on one matter or another. If these names become known, these people will be destroyed because there will be no context," O’Reilly said.

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🇺🇸🇷🇺🇺🇦 "100,000 Russian soldiers have died since the beginning of the year, Russia has lost in the war.

Not wounded, but dead! Ukraine's losses are smaller, but very significant," — US Secretary of state Marco Rubio.

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🇺🇸 Trump doesn't like wars according to Rubio.

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🇺🇸🇪🇺🇺🇦 The US and Europe could lead a new "Marshall Plan" to rebuild Ukraine, said the US President's special envoy Kellogg, drawing a parallel with the American aid program for Europe after World War II.

Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that one trillion dollars will be needed over the next 14 years for the country's restoration and modernization, which Kiev hopes to obtain through the confiscation of frozen Russian assets as well as European investments.

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🇺🇸🇺🇦 For the first time since returning to office, Trump will send weapons to Kiev under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor - Reuters

Trump's team will identify arms from U.S. stockpiles to send to Ukraine under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, sources said, with one saying they could be worth around $300 million.

So far, the Trump administration has only sent weapons authorized by former President Joe Biden, who was a staunch supporter of Kiev.

Presidential Drawdown Authority allows the president to draw from weapons stocks to help allies in an emergency.

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🇺🇸🇨🇦 Trump slaps Canada with a 35% tariff, and warns it might get bigger

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