On Thursday, 21 March 2024, a round table was held under the title: 20 years of membership of the Republic of Slovenia in NATO: analysis of experience and a look into the future at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana organised by the Department of Defence Studies and the Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia.
Speakers at the event:
– Professor Ljubica Jelušič, PhD, Department of Defence Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, former Minister of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia
– Major General (ret.) Alojz Šteiner, PhD, former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Slovenia
– Dr Božo Cerar, retired ambassador, former permanent representative of the Republic of Slovenia to NATO
– Dr Erik Kopač, former adviser for national security, former permanent representative of the Republic of Slovenia to NATO
– Mr Gašper Ferme, Teaching Assistant and young researcher at Faculty of Social Sciences
Opening remarks at the event were given by Assist. Prof. Jelena Juvan, PhD, head of the Department of Defence Studies and Vice-president of the Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia, and by Professor Iztok Prezelj, PhD, President of the Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia, and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
This round table was part of a series of events, organised by both the Department of Defence Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia, taking place in March this year, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Slovenian membership of NATO. The speakers and participants reflected on the last 20 years through the prism of our membership in the Alliance and looked back on the experiences we have gained and the lessons we have learned.
Dr Božo Cerar presented his view on the alliance, from its beginnings to the present day, starting from a foreign policy perspective. MG (ret.) Alojz Šteiner presented his vision of the Slovenian Army’s path in the Alliance, focusing on the transformation it underwent since joining NATO’s Partnership for Peace till today. Professor Ljubica Jelušič focused on the political and administrative perspective of the Ministry of Defence in the light of membership in NATO, and also pointed out the non-fulfilment of the commitments that Slovenia has made to NATO and the resulting failure to field planned capabilities. Gašper Ferme presented a history of the results of public opinion surveys on NATO membership and presented his views as to why Slovenia ranks towards the bottom among all member states in terms of public opinion support for membership. Dr Erik Kopač, however, presented his recent direct experience from within the Alliance facing the war in Ukraine.
