Event Between Mountains and Data: How do we live in Slovenia and how do we live in Zasavje?

The Minister said he was satisfied with the absorption of the funds available under the Just Transition Fund, as projects are being developed that will create new high-quality jobs with high added value.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development, acting as the intermediary body within the Just Transition Fund for the Zasavje region, has already approved four applications submitted by the municipalities of the Zasavje coal region. The following applications were submitted under   calls for proposals:

• Kisovec II Business Zone (Municipality Zagorje, co-financing in the amount of €1.5 million),
• Lakonca Craft and Industrial Zone (Municipality Trbovlje, co-financing in the amount of €9.36 million),
• Rudnik Business Zone (Municipality Hrastnik, co-financing in the amount of €1.55 million),
• Kompreshaus Business Incubator (Municipality Hrastnik, co-financing in the amount of €600,000).

All four projects are already underway.

Under the Just Transition Fund, a contract was also signed between the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation and the National Institute of Chemistry for the project Centre for Demonstration and Training for Carbon-Free Technologies (DUBT Centre) in Kisovec, worth a total of €32 million. A payment of €9.64 million has already been made.

Minister Jevšek underlined that allocating EU funds effectively is not enough to reduce the gap between the West and the East of Slovenia and within individual regions; we should also focus on clearly positioning regional policy as one of the key pillars of national policies for strengthening competitiveness and increasing the prosperity of the population. We need a strong regional policy. “This is why we have prepared amendments to the Promotion of Balanced Regional Development Act, which will give regions a greater role, empower them, and ensure that funds are allocated to projects that respond to their actual needs,” Minister Jevšek added.

Dr. Peter Wostner from the Institute of Macroeconomic Research and Development presented the key findings of the Development Report 2025: Quality of Life in Slovenia, with a special focus on the Zasavje region. The presentation was followed by a round table discussion with mayors, businesspeople, educators, and scientists.