The European Commission Representation in Slovenia and the Recovery and Resilience Office today hosted the annual event of the Recovery and Resilience Plan in Slovenia. At the conference entitled Double Transition for Sustainable Economic Growth, the participants discussed the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy in light of the green and digital transition.

Slovenia has received EUR 536 million in response to its second request for the payment of funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Today, Slovenia received an advance of EUR 24 million of EU funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan for the implementation of REPowerEU measures to reduce the dependence on Russian energy products and accelerate the green transition. In total, EUR 122 million is available to Slovenia for this purpose. It will receive the remaining funds when it meets the milestones and targets of the planned measures.

Today, the European Commission provided a positive preliminary assessment of the second payment request under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which Slovenia submitted to Brussels in mid-September. Slovenia could receive the payment in the amount of EUR 541 million around the New Year.

Today, the Council of the European Union comprising finance ministers approved the amendment to Slovenia's Recovery and Resilience Plan. The revised plan, which now includes a REPowerEU chapter, is worth EUR 1.61 billion in grants and EUR 1.07 billion in loans. This brings the total value of EU funding for the Recovery and Resilience Plan to EUR 2.68 billion.

The European Commission today welcomed the proposal to amend the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan. The amendment to the plan also needs to be approved by the Council of the European Union. The renewed plan, which now also includes a REPowerEU chapter, will be worth EUR 1.61 billion in EU grants and EUR 1.07 billion in loans. It will cover 34 reforms and 49 investments.

After the Government took note of the Report on the Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Recovery and Resilience submitted today to the European Commission a second request for payment under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The Government takes note of the Report on the Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) before submitting the second request for payment under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which includes information on meeting the milestones and goals for individual instalments. The Government also discussed the financial implementation of the Plan.

The Government has approved an indicative list of areas for additional loans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

After the Government approved the proposed amendment to the Recovery and Resilience Plan on Monday, 10 July 2023, the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Recovery and Resilience submitted the proposed amendment to the plan together with all supporting documents to Brussels today. We expect the final approval of the adjustment proposal of the plan by the Council of the European Union this autumn.

The Government confirmed the proposed amendment to the Recovery and Resilience Plan that complies with the significant changes of circumstances that occurred after it was approved by the EU Council in July 2021. The Government will submit the amended plan to be formally harmonised and approved by Brussels by the end of the week.

The Recovery and Resilience Office organised a workshop entitled "Recovery and Resilience Mechanism and Protection of the European Union’s Financial Interests" for representatives of the ministries responsible for implementing the measures of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and thus protecting the EU’s financial interests. The participants of the workshop listened to representatives of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Criminal Police Directorate.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek attended the official opening of the renovated railway station in Grosuplje.

At today’s event on the Recovery and Resilience Plan – Implementation, New Circumstances and Amendments, which was hosted by the Ministry of Finance and the Recovery and Resilience Office, representatives of ministries presented the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the proposed amendments to interested stakeholders and the public. The event was also attended by the Minister of Finance Mr Klemen Boštjančič.

Following the European Commission’s preliminary positive assessment of the first payment request for a grant from the Recovery and Resilience Facility in early March, Slovenia has today received a transfer of just under €50 million. “The relevant European institutions have positively assessed the fulfilment of all 12 milestones linked to the first instalment of the grant. The Ministry of Finance, together with the Recovery and Resilience Office, will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the plan and the achievement of the milestones and targets, which are a condition for the payment of the funds from Brussels,” emphasised Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič.

In March, the Government adopted the starting points for the preparation of proposed adjustments to the Recovery and Resilience Plan, which will, among other things, address the objectives of the REPowerEU plan to reduce dependence on Russian energy. Government representatives today discussed the starting points for the new chapter of the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan with the interested public at a public consultation.

The Government has adopted a basis for the preparation of a proposal for amendments to the Recovery and Resilience Plan to address the reduction in available funding and the objectives of the REPowerEU plan to reduce dependence on Russian energy. It will be followed by coordination with the European Commission and other stakeholders and the preparation of a proposal to adapt the plan.

The European Commission has given a preliminary positive assessment of the first payment request for European funding for recovery and resilience. "We have been eagerly awaiting the news that was announced today by Commissioner Gentiloni. I am very pleased that the Commission has given the green light to our first payment request for the Recovery and Resilience Facility," said the Minister of Finance Klemen Boštjančič at a press conference.

One year after the confirmation of Slovenia’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Representation of the European Commission in Slovenia, the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Office, and the Ministry of Infrastructure together with the Slovenian Infrastructure Agency, held the plan’s first annual event, entitled On the Road to a Green Transition. In the morning, the conference participants discussed sustainable mobility and effective energy use, while in the afternoon they had a look at the first results of the project to upgrade the Ljubljana-Divača railway line, which is being financed as part of the plan. The event was also attended by the Head of the Recovery and Resilience Task Force at the European Commission, Céline Gauer, the Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič, and Minister of Infrastructure Bojan Kumer.

As announced yesterday by the Minister of Finance, Klemen Boštjančič, at the press conference following the session of the Government, the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Recovery and Resilience, a body within the Ministry of Finance, today forwarded to the European Commission a request for the payment of the first instalment of grants from the European Resilience and Recovery Facility.