10 Feb. 2003

Slovenian Prime Minister visits NATO The Prime Minister of Slovenia, Mr. Anton Rop, visited NATO Headquarters on 10 February for talks with Secretary General Lord Robertson. Slovenia is one of seven countries currently engaged in accession talks to join NATO. It is expected that it will join the Alliance at the latest at the next NATO Summit in May 2004, together with the other applicant countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia. Speaking at a press conference following their meeting, Lord Robertson welcomed the Slovenian government’s commitment to increase defence expenditure and to improve Slovenia’s defence capabilities. He also underscored the importance of the upcoming referendum in Slovenia on NATO membership, scheduled for 23 March. “The people of Slovenia are being offered an opportunity in the next few weeks to give their judgement on the government's decision to apply for membership of NATO and I hope that they act with the seriousness and the maturity that I know people in Slovenia have,” Lord Robertson said. “It's a big vote, an important vote, and membership of NATO is an important thing.” Additional information: NATO Speech - 10 February 2003 Press conference by NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson and by Mr. Anton Rop, Prime Minister of Slovenia Audio file (MP3/2.629kb) High resolution photos NATO Update - 29 January 2003 NATO begins accession talks with invitees Background - From invitee to member: The Road to NATO Membership