Slovenia submits final payment request for funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility

Last Thursday, the Government took note of the Report on the Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (hereafter the Report) before submitting the seventh payment request. The Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Recovery and Resilience (URSOO), which acts as the coordinating body within the framework of the implementation of Slovenia's Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), has today submitted the payment request to Brussels. This is the ninth instalment of grants, amounting to €268.67 million, and the fourth instalment of loans, amounting to €3.1 million.

The request covers all 60 planned milestones and targets (as set out in the Report), of which 47 relate to grants and 13 to loans. Most of the milestones and targets (58) relate to the implementation of investment measures.

The European Commission (EC) will assess whether the milestones and targets have been satisfactorily fulfilled and, on that basis, determine the amount to be paid in respect of the claim.

Member States will receive the full amount of the funds relating to the final payment claims under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (hereafter the Facility) provided that they have duly met all the associated milestones and targets and have not revoked the milestones and targets for which they received funds under previously disbursed claims.

Examples of milestones and targets of the seventh payment request

Examples of milestones and targets in the instalment of grants:

• Flood protection infrastructure built – With the aim of strengthening flood protection, Slovenia has implemented ten projects using the Facility grants, thereby exceeding the original target by three.  In addition, it has carried out eight further projects using loan funding. Here too, the target was exceeded by three projects.
• Participants trained to respond to wildfires – More than 1,000 firefighters and representatives of various organisations involved in responding to major wildfires have taken part in training at the National Large Wildfire Centre in Sežana.
• Number of new electricity distribution substations built – To strengthen the electricity distribution network and promote the use of renewable energy sources, 838 new substations were built.
• Households with broadband access – High-speed internet access was provided to more than 10,000 households in white-spot areas, exceeding the original target of 6,838 households.
• Number of e-services or e-solutions or IT infrastructure or equipment related to agriculture, food and forestry – A total of 41 e-services, e-solutions and IT infrastructure and digital equipment solutions have been provided to strengthen digital infrastructure and digital services in the fields of agriculture, food and forestry, exceeding the original target (32 e-services or e-solutions or IT infrastructure or equipment).
•  Number of projects supporting businesses investing in less developed regions or border problem areas – A total of 203 projects were implemented, exceeding the target by five projects.
• Number of co-financed electricity storage facilities – The target of supporting 56 projects was exceeded. Financial incentives were awarded to 205 companies for 231 electricity storage facilities.
• Provision of emergency medical vehicles – To improve access to emergency medical care, 42 nontransporting emergency medical service vehicles were provided to 36 municipalities, along with one specialised nontransporting emergency medical service vehicle equipped to accommodate an ECMO device. The original target of 38 vehicles was exceeded.
• Construction of the Ljubljana Department of Infectious Diseases to Phase 3, including some works from Phases 4 and 5 – As part of the project activities under the RRP, the building's reinforced concrete structural frame, associated building and finishing works and roof structure were completed, creating the conditions for the continuation and completion of the project. Works on the main mechanical services distribution systems were also carried out, along with some finishing works in individual areas of the building.
• Supply of linear accelerators for the Maribor University Medical Centre – Four linear accelerators were supplied and installed at the Maribor University Medical Centre, representing a major upgrade to radiotherapy services for patients in northeastern Slovenia.

Examples of targets in the loan instalment:

• Landslide risk reduction infrastructure constructed or established – Five projects to improve landslide protection have been implemented: the Koroška Bela Hinterland Landslide, Remediation works on the Laze landslide near Leskovica, the Gradišče nad Prvačino Landslide, the Slano Blato Landslide and the Macesnik Landslide.
• Beds in newly constructed residential care facilities – A total of 516 additional beds have been provided in care homes for the elderly for people who are dependent on assistance from others: in Bloke, Sodražica, Mežica, Gradišče, Hrvatini, Krmelj, Črnomelj, Višnja Gora, Šentjur, Črna na Koroškem, Kobilje, Šalovci, Podlehnik, Majšperk and Dobrovnik.

To date, the EC has paid Slovenia the full amount of six payment requests, having assessed that all 122 related milestones and targets had been met. Therefore, Slovenia has, together with prepayments, received a total of €1.81 billion under the Facility, representing 86.9% of the total funding available, of which €1.34 billion are grants and €0.47 billion are loans.

Today, Slovenia submitted its final payment request for funding under the Facility to Brussels, covering the remaining 60 milestones and targets. This means that Slovenia has reported to the EC on the fulfilment of all 182 milestones and targets since the implementation of the RRP began.