FT: Slovakia counts hospitals as NATO defence spending to clear 2% threshold

Slovakia is counting the construction costs of two new hospitals toward its defence spending totals as Prime Minister Robert Fico seeks to bring the country above NATO’s long-standing 2% of GDP target, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The newspaper said the facilities include classified defence-related components, although they are expected to function as ordinary civilian hospitals during peacetime and outside large-scale emergencies.

Tomáš Valášek, a former Slovak ambassador to NATO, told the FT that without the hospital-related expenditure, Bratislava’s projected defence spending for 2026 would stand at around 1.74% of gross domestic product.

Valášek said NATO had neither requested the hospitals nor included them in Slovakia’s original military planning.

The government, however, maintains that the facilities could play a strategic role during wartime or major national emergencies by supporting military and security operations.

The move comes as NATO members face mounting pressure to raise defence budgets after allies agreed in 2025 to work toward a new long-term spending goal of 5% of GDP by 2035.

By Aghakazim Guliyev