European Commission gives preliminary positive assessment of fourth payment request
The European Commission (EC) has assessed that Slovenia has satisfactorily met all 27 milestones and targets conditioning its fourth payment request, which the Slovenian Government submitted to Brussels in June this year.
On this occasion, Klemen Boštjančič, Minister of Finance, emphasised that today's preliminary positive assessment of the request is not only a confirmation of the successful achievement of milestones and targets set in the measures of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, but also recognition for all those who contribute in any way to the implementation of investments and reforms. "Behind every successfully achieved milestone and target are persistent and dedicated individuals in state institutions, the economy, interest groups, parliamentary benches, and I could go on. Their willingness to engage in dialogue is crucial. This is extremely important and, in most major structural reforms, extremely demanding, but it is the only way to move things forward, as the European Commission has also recognised. Today, we are one step closer to a new disbursement of European funds to strengthen the Slovenian economy and society after the COVID crisis," the minister emphasised, announcing that the disbursement is expected later this year.
In order to meet the milestones and targets of the fourth request, the Government submitted a legislative proposal to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia for comprehensive amendments to the Pension and Disability Insurance Act, and the Act governing the public sector salary system, the Act establishing a "crisis" scheme for reduced working hours, and an amendment to the Labour Market Regulation Act have entered into force. Among the milestones achieved in the investment area are, among others, the award of a public contract for the construction of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana and the upgrading of the railway stations in Grosuplje and Domžale.
The EC will send its preliminary assessment to the Economic and Financial Committee for its opinion. The EC will then make a final assessment and issue a decision formally authorising the maximum possible disbursement of the fifth and sixth tranches of grants of EUR 400.09 million and the third tranche of loans of EUR 39.56 million of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, the largest part of the NextGenerationEU financial package for the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The gross amount of the fourth request was in fact EUR 502.36 million, but the net payment will be adjusted proportionally due to the pro-rata deduction of the advance grants received by Slovenia at the start of the RRP's implementation in 2021.
Following the receipt of funds under the fourth payment request, Slovenia will see a 69% inflow of available funds, or EUR 1.54 billion, of which EUR 1.07 billion will be grants and EUR 0.47 billion loans. A total of 91 milestones and targets will be formally met, or 45.5% of the total of 200 milestones and targets.
The State has already paid over EUR 1.08 billion to final recipients for the project activities carried out. A number of digital and green transition activities have been implemented. More than 1,360 projects across Slovenia are involved in the implementation of investments.
For more information on the content of the fourth payment request, please visit the website noo.gov.si/en.
