181st regular session of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia

The Government determined the text of the draft Act on the Gradual Closure of the Velenje Coal Mine

With this act, Slovenia fulfils its commitments under the National Strategy for Phasing Out Coal and Restructuring Coal Regions, which provides for the discontinuation of coal use by no later than 2033. The deadline is based on professional cost–benefit analyses and ensures a coordinated transition that is aligned with the country’s energy needs.

A more detailed proposal for a twenty-year closure programme has also been prepared, as well as a two-year operational programme based on this proposal. Since the content of the act qualifies as a state aid scheme, notification to the European Commission will run in parallel with the legislative procedure in the National Assembly. The provisions of the act may only start to apply after its adoption, publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, and approval by the European Commission, presumably from 1 July 2026.

The operation of the Velenje Coal Mine is not the subject of this act but depends on three key areas, namely coal demand, safety, and workforce capacity.

Key solutions provided by the act:

• Establishment of a legal framework for the gradual and controlled closure of the Velenje Coal Mine and the regular liquidation of the company by 2045.
• Adoption of the Programme for the Gradual Closure of the Velenje Coal Mine for the period 2026–2045, which will define the scope, method, and pace of closure works, environmental remediation, and measures for a just transition of employees
• For the operational implementation of the gradual closure of the Velenje Coal Mine, detailed annual programmes for the gradual closure of the Velenje Coal Mine will be adopted.
• Social measures for workers, including the possibility of early occupational and old-age retirement, severance payments, allowances, and retraining.
• Strict technical and financial control mechanisms for the implementation of the programme, including independent audits.

A substantial financial framework is envisaged for the implementation of the act – more than EUR 1.13 billion from the state budget in the period from 2026 to 2045, which represents approximately EUR 50 million annually. In addition, the act stipulates that closure works are primarily financed from the Velenje Coal Mine’s own resources (coal sales, divestment of non-core assets), while budgetary funds are provided only for the difference.

The draft act was prepared in close cooperation with stakeholders, including the representative trade union SPESS and Premogovnik Velenje, d. o. o. Most of the trade union’s proposals were taken into account, ensuring that the act adheres to the principles of a just transition and the protection of workers’ rights.

With this legislative package, Slovenia fulfils its commitments to a just transition and climate neutrality and ensures the responsible and controlled discontinuation of coal-mining activities in one of the country’s most important energy regions.

Source: Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning

 Government determined the text of the draft Act on Additional Emergency Measures in the Field of Healthcare

At today’s session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia determined the text of the Draft Act on Additional Emergency Measures in the Field of Healthcare and submitted it to the National Assembly for consideration under the urgent procedure.

The draft act contains urgent, targeted measures in the field of healthcare, which have a decisive impact on stabilising the entire healthcare system and are intended to strengthen its functioning at the earliest time possible, in the most optimal manner.

It extends the validity of certain previously adopted temporary measures, namely regarding the level of knowledge of the Slovene language, the content of the application for occasional or temporary performance of healthcare services, and the basis for transferring competences from doctors to individual healthcare workers. These are measures that have proved effective, and therefore their validity is being extended for two years.

A monthly incentive is introduced for choosing a specialisation in emergency medicine in the amount of EUR 1,000 gross, with the aim of increasing interest in this specialisation, ensuring an adequate number of emergency medicine specialists, and thereby improving access to healthcare.

In addition, the draft act regulates the source of financing for the payment of the mentorship allowance within clinical and practical training for students and pupils from the budget of the Republic of Slovenia.

The draft act allows an additional possibility of concluding cooperation agreements between a healthcare provider within the public healthcare network and a private healthcare provider, where the following types of healthcare activities are concerned: dental technology, orthotics and prosthetics, or optics and optometry.

In addition, it clearly defines the obligations of a public healthcare institution or concessionaire in relation to the provider of continuous healthcare services and lays down additional inspection measures and sanctions in the event of a breach of this obligation.

It ensures the immediate financial stabilisation of hospitals with high overdue liabilities or cumulative losses, thereby preventing further accumulation of debt. The financing enables public healthcare institutions to settle key liabilities to employees, suppliers, and financiers, which improves their liquidity and ensures the uninterrupted provision of healthcare services. The objective is to ensure more stable operations of public healthcare institutions and to maintain accessibility and quality of healthcare for the population.

It also includes numerous measures in the field of absenteeism. For example, lay supervision is regulated at the statutory level, the possibility of withdrawing the allowance in cases of abuse of sick leave is expanded, the regime of movement is determined, etc.

Source: Ministry of Health

Government began its deliberations on the draft Nursing and Midwifery Act

At today’s session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia began its deliberations on the draft Nursing and Midwifery Act (ZZNB). Before adoption, the Government will also submit the act to the Economic and Social Council (ESS) for consideration.

Nursing and midwifery (ZNB) represent fundamental pillars of the healthcare system, as they are performed by the largest professional group of healthcare workers, who play a key role in ensuring safe and high-quality patient care.

Due to an ageing society, increasing demand for healthcare services, and the increasingly complex tasks performed by providers of nursing and midwifery at all levels of healthcare, it is urgent to adopt a special act that will comprehensively regulate this field.

Source: Ministry of Health

 Government adopted the draft Wine Act at today’s session

The Government determined the text of the draft Wine Act and is submitting it to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia for consideration under the regular procedure.

The proposed Wine Act introduces a modern approach to regulating viticulture and winemaking. Its purpose is to facilitate compliance with European regulations, protect producers and consumers, and enhance the global competitiveness of Slovenian wine.

It brings the following novelties:

• defines wine and other grapevine products and aromatised products in accordance with the applicable EU legislation;
• defines grape production and sets criteria for vineyard cultivation, thereby preventing the abandonment and overgrowth of vineyards;
• transposes the applicable EU legal framework governing grapevine plantings into national law, taking into account the specific characteristics of viticulture in Slovenia;
• defines as land eligible for replanting with grapevines any land that has been a vineyard at any point in the past three years, even if it is no longer a vineyard at present. These updates aim to enable the replanting of vineyards that have already been grubbed up, which significantly contributes to preserving the sector and the landscape;
• defines a one-year transitional period during which producers may register vineyards planted without permits in the register without sanctions, with the aim of regulating the sector at all levels;
• defines the production of grapes, wine, and other products and classifies producers into size categories based on the extent of production by area or yield;
• defines what constitutes own grape production and own wine production, thereby preventing abuse of labelling and support schemes;
• transposes the applicable EU legal framework governing the use of oenological products and procedures, and the testing of new oenological products and practices, with permissible national adaptations;
• introduces an important systemic addition and upgrade to the register of grape producers;
• maintains the use of registered traditional expressions as designations of quality classes for Slovenian wines with a geographical indication.

An important novelty is the updated register of producers, which will provide better oversight of who produces grapes and wine, and ensure greater traceability. Companies without their own vineyards will also be required to register. Harvest will be reported by GERK, which will assist in assessing damage caused by weather events.

The act also regulates the use of oenological products (materials and procedures used in wine production) in accordance with European rules and allows for the testing of new practices. The quality of wine will be ensured by authorised laboratories and organisations that will carry out analyses and tests to guarantee the authenticity and safety of products.

In marketing, the act precisely defines wine-labelling rules to prevent misleading practices and protect geographical indications. It also specifically regulates the handling of products not suitable for the market, procedures for their disposal, and penalty provisions.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food

Draft amendment to the Act on the Financing and Promotion of the Construction of Public Rental Housing

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia approved the text of the draft act amending and supplementing the Act on the Financing and Promotion of the Construction of Public Rental Housing and submitted it to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia for consideration under the urgent procedure.

The draft amendment introduces technically more appropriate statutory provisions for the implementation of the act’s financial mechanism, which provides for the subsidisation of interest rates for loans taken out by final beneficiaries from SID – the Slovenian Export and Development Bank. The proposed legislative solution enables effective, transparent, and fiscally consistent implementation of the interest-rate subsidy measure, while at the same time preserving the integrity of the public finance system of the Republic of Slovenia.

Source: Ministry for a Solidarity-Based Future

Second amendment to the European Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027 approved

Today, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the second amendment to the Programme for the Implementation of European Cohesion Policy (ECP) for the period 2021–2027, through which Slovenia is adapting to the new development and strategic priorities of the European Union and to national needs. The key reason for the amendment is the more efficient use of available funds and a stronger focus on areas with the greatest development impact. At the same time, this amendment will enable Slovenia to accelerate the absorption of non-repayable cohesion funds, particularly in 2026.

With the amendment of the programme, the Government is reallocating non-repayable European cohesion funds totalling EUR 243.5 million and EUR 15.5 million from the safety net for the following new content:

Competitiveness EUR 53.5 million – Support for investments contributing to the objectives of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), funds for the public call for the development and production of strategic technologies amounting to EUR 30 million, and the High-Performance Computer 2 (HPC 2) in the amount of EUR 23.5 million.

Energy transition and energy security EUR 57.7 million – The measure covers cross-border energy connections, transmission/distribution networks, storage facilities, and charging infrastructure.

Defence and security – Slovenia will allocate a little over EUR 81.4 million for so-called dual-use purposes. Of this, EUR 46 million will be allocated to ensuring dual-use healthcare infrastructure (investments in regional hospitals). 

Accessible and sustainable housing EUR 41.9 million – For the co-financing of affordable and sustainable public rental housing and public rental assisted housing.

The amended programme defines a new operation of strategic importance in the area of the Eastern Cohesion Region. This is the renovation project of the Rotovž Centre in Maribor, which comprehensively addresses the spatial, functional, and developmental challenges of three central cultural institutions in the Eastern Cohesion Region – the Maribor Library, the Maribor Art Gallery, and the Art Cinema. EUR 18 million of European funding will be provided for the project.

Within the Just Transition Fund, two new measures have been added. For the Savinja–Šalek coal region, the purchase or transfer of dwellings owned by the Velenje Coal Mine and the Šoštanj Thermal Power Plant to the Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia, for the purpose of providing public rental housing for various target groups, is envisaged in the amount of EUR 5 million. For the Zasavje coal region, EUR 1.5 million is intended for the maintenance and transfer of individual housing units.

The amendment to the programme also brings several systemic benefits, such as extending the implementation of the European Cohesion Policy until the end of 2030 and a higher co-financing rate for new objectives, which may be increased by 10 percentage points, up to a maximum of 100 per cent.

Following today’s approval of the second amendment to the European Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027, the programme’s monitoring committee is also deciding on the amendment today, after which the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development will forward the amended programme to Brussels.

Source: Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development

Signing of an agreement on the implementation of activities for the regulation of property-law relations with the Municipality of Maribor

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted a decision to conclude an Agreement on the implementation of activities for the regulation of property-law relations with the Municipality of Maribor.

With the agreement, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Municipality of Maribor express their intention to regulate property-law relations between the state and the municipality, with the aim of regulating the ownership status of the Tezno Retirement Home, the final implementation of the extension project of the Maribor Grammar School III, the legal regulation of the associated land of the Maribor Conservatory of Music and Ballet, and the regulation of the legal status of the Račji dvor facility and the Textile Institute.

The heads of the managers of state-owned real estate (ministers) and the municipality will endeavour, in accordance with the applicable sectoral regulations, to carry out the activities and necessary procedures to realise the purpose of this agreement, while preserving the property benefits of both contracting parties. Each side will bear the financial obligations in accordance with its competences, and the agreement serves as a temporal and substantive coordination for both parties.

Following the conclusion of the Government session, the agreement was signed today by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Robert Golob, and the Mayor of the Municipality of Maribor, Saša Arsenovič.

Source: Ministry of Public Administration