Slovenia receives €440 million in EU funds for recovery and resilience

SLOVENIA, November 26 - "With today's disbursement, Slovenia has so far received a total of 69% of all available EU funds for the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), placing it among the most successful performers. This is a result we can all be proud of. According to information from Brussels, Slovenia is currently ranked sixth in terms of the successful use of these funds. This information serves as guidance and encouragement, not as a laurel. There is still a great deal of work ahead. Together with my ministerial colleagues and their teams, we will continue in our efforts to make full use of the available funds until the very end. Time is running out. Most of the outstanding activities relating to the milestones and targets which must be implemented to receive the remaining funds must be completed by the end of June next year, which could be a challenge in view of the elections," said the Finance Minister.

Slovenia has satisfactorily met all 27 milestones of the fourth payment request. The gross value of the request amounted to €502 million, while the net payment totalled €440 million – of which €400 million were grants (the fifth and sixth instalments) and €40 million loans (the third instalment). In its final calculation, the European Commission proportionately took into account the pre-financing of RRF grants Slovenia received in previous years.

According to Saša Jazbec, State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance responsible for fiscal policy, the budget and public accounting, the bulk of the milestones and targets of the fourth request were linked to reforms, including the most substantial ones. "After difficult negotiations and coordination, we succeeded as a country in preparing and adopting the Public Sector Salary System Act, the Act Establishing a "Crisis" Short-Time Work Scheme and the amendment to the Labour Market Regulation Act, which at one point was even threatened by a referendum. Yet the arguments prevailed, as today's disbursement confirms," she stressed.

"The funds received will be channelled into investments. Project implementation is in full swing. The impact of these funds can already be seen in all parts of Slovenia. In the upcoming payment requests, the milestones and targets linked to investments will come to the forefront,” said Josip Mihalic, Director of the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Recovery and Resilience. "Today, as we welcome the disbursement of the fourth request, we are already focusing on the next one, which is linked to 16 milestones and targets. According to the competent ministries, most of these have already been met, which means we are very close to submitting the fifth payment request to the European Commission, likely by the end of the year," announced the head of the coordinating body for the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Prime Minister Robert Golob also commented on the inflow of funds: "Receiving the maximum disbursement is proof that perseverance and cooperation bear fruit – especially when it comes to bold investments in a better tomorrow. Behind every successfully met milestone and target stand dedicated and committed individuals. The implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan is a team effort, involving many stakeholders. In such important reforms, compromises are inevitable," he noted, recalling the pension reform, the entry into force of which will form part of the next payment request. "For quite some time, the fate of the pension reform hung in the balance. I am pleased that citizens confirmed that we must take a step forward. The reform creates the conditions for a dignified old age," the Prime Minister concluded in response to the inflow of European funds.

Including today's payment, Slovenia has so far received a total of €1.54 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the largest component of the NextGenerationEU financial package for post-pandemic recovery. This includes €1.07 billion in grants and €0.47 billion in loans. 

The state has already paid more than one billion euro to final recipients for completed project activities. More than 1,360 projects are currently under way across all Slovenian regions as part of the planned investments. 

Many projects have already been completed. Here are a few examples:

• Slovenia has already completed five projects to increase the capacity of its railway infrastructure. Railway stations in Grosuplje, Domžale and Nova Gorica have been renovated, and two railway infrastructure renovation projects totalling 49 kilometres have been completed on the Kranj–Jesenice and Ljubljana–Brezovica–Borovnica sections;
• Sixteen municipal projects for drinking water supply and conservation and sixteen projects for wastewater collection and treatment have been completed;
• More than 50 companies in the wood-processing sector have been supported in shifting to more domestic and environmentally friendly wood processing;
• Thirty secondary schools have received 36 robotic arms, enabling practical training, the development of technical skills and a deeper understanding of automation and robotics;
• In 2024 alone, more than 64 training sessions were held under the Mentor Training project, attended by 720 workplace mentors.

These are just a few of the tangible results. Most projects are still under way, and some are nearing completion – for example, the construction of the Vrazov trg Campus for the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ljubljana.

Examples of RRP projects can also be seen on the European RRF project map.

More information on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.