The application will be officially submitted to the European Commission as soon as possible, but at the latest within 12 weeks of the first damage caused by the disaster. Slovenia will make use of the portfolio of funding options under the EU budget, including the advance payment under the EU Solidarity Fund.

Already today, it is clear that the damage caused by the flash floods and the landslides will exceed the threshold set out in the regulation on the EU Solidarity Fund and that Slovenia will be eligible for financial assistance from the Fund. The amount of the assistance requested and the amount of the assistance that will be granted will depend on the damage estimate and the recovery and reconstruction measures that Slovenia will plan. It is too early to speak about concrete figures at this moment.

The following essential emergency and recovery operations are covered by the EU Solidarity Fund:

• restoring the working order of infrastructure and plant in the fields of energy, water and waste water, telecommunications, transport, health and education;
• providing temporary accommodation and funding rescue services to meet the needs of the population concerned;
• securing preventive infrastructure and measures of protection of cultural heritage;
• cleaning up disaster-stricken areas, including natural zones;
• rapidly assisting people affected by a major public health emergency, including providing medical help, and protecting the public against the attendant risks.

Reallocation of cohesion funds

In line with the government decision of 5 August, the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development called on all ministries to submit information about the potential funding that remains unspent under the 2014-2020 programming period and to draw up a list of the ongoing projects that will not be completed due to the floods. After the relevant information will be gathered and considered, the ministry will draw up a list of proposals on how to make best use of available cohesion funds and submit it to the government.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has been in contact with the Commission services discussing the possibility of reallocating available funding. As per regulations, the 2014-2020 programming period is closing at the end of 2023 and the deadline for the eligibility of expenditure incurred in this programming period is 31 December 2023.

The ministry will also explore the possibility of amending Slovenia’s Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027 that has kicked off this year.