The Government approved an indicative list of areas for additional loans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility up to €747 million. Together with other already envisaged loans, the application for all loans under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) will thus amount to almost €1.3 billion.

Following the submission of proposed amendment to RRP, which is the basis for using the Recovery and Resilience Facility funds, in June, last week the Government took note of the possibilities for using these funds to address the challenges related to floods and other natural disasters, as well as for any other additional investments.

In the wake of recent floods, the Government re-examined the implementation of flood protection projects. Based on the possibility of a more flexible consideration of these projects expressed by the European Commission, the Government decided to leave the door open for raising up to €320 million in loans for investments in the reduction of flood and other climate-related risks. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning will only support those projects that will definitely be completed by the middle of 2026.

The Government will also apply for an additional €427 million in loans for other purposes. These loans will be used to increase the railway infrastructure capacity and carry out sustainable building renovations.

The Government authorised the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Recovery and Resilience to submit an application for additional loans to the European Commission by 31 August 2023 at the latest. Due to exceptional circumstances and as agreed with the European Commission, Slovenia's application will be for the highest possible amount and will include an indicative list of areas to be financed with the loans concerned. In the coming months, the Government will informally coordinate the content of the proposed areas with the European Commission and draft an amended RRP to include the additional reforms, milestones, and targets required to use the funds concerned.

The final amount of loans will be approved by the end of this year. It might be lower than applied for, depending on how flexible and understanding will the European Commission be after promising/expressing its support.