Slovenia to request up to EUR 747m in extra loans from recovery facility

Slovenia is eligible for EUR 1.49 billion in grants from the Recovery Facility and an additional EUR 122 million under the RePowerEU plan to implement the measures in the Recovery and Resilience Plan, and has so far planned to use EUR 545 million in loans.

This means EUR 2.7 billion in loans are still available to the country.

The government adopted changes to the National Recovery Plan in July and send it for confirmation to the European Commission. But then the country was hit by devastating floods that caused several billion euro damage.

Last week the government looked into the possibility of using the Recovery and Resilience Facility funds for addressing the flood-related challenges.

Following the floods, the government examined the implementation of the flood protection projects and based on the European Commission's willingness to be flexible in the treatment of these projects, decided to leave the door open to borrowing up to EUR 320 million for investment under the chapter on reducing the risk of floods and other climate-related disasters, the Government Communications Office (UKOM) said.

The Ministry for Natural Resources and Spatial Planning will support only the projects that will definitely be carried out by mid-2026, the deadline for the projects financed by the facility.

The government will also apply for additional loans for other purposes, worth EUR 427 million. These funds will be used to finance an expansion of railway infrastructure capabilities and sustainable renovation of buildings.

The Office for Recovery and Resilience is to send a request for approval of the additional loans to Brussels by the 31 August deadline.

In the coming months, the National Recovery Plan will be amended in cooperation with the Commission, UKOM said.

The final amount of loans that will be confirmed by the end of the year could be lower than what Slovenia will request, it said, adding that this would depend on the Commission's understanding and flexibility.

Prime Minister Robert Golob has already informed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of the government's decision to use additional loans from the Recovery and Resilience Facility in a telephone conversation, the government said on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter.

Von der Leyen, who said they had a good conversation, said on X that a request for additional loans was expected in Brussels on Thursday.

The government and von der Leyen said they were also working together to obtain funding from the Solidarity Fund and cohesion and agricultural policies.

Another source of financing will be the Solidarity Fund, where Slovenia could count on up to EUR 400 million this year and in 2024.

In addition, the country is to amend its plans for the use of cohesion funds, of which EUR 3.3 billion is available for the 2021-2027 period. It could also use some of the remaining cohesion funds under the EU's 2014-2020 multiannual budget, which will not be spent by the end of this year, for flood recovery. This is expected to be around EUR 50 million.

The government also decided today that the Slovenian Enterprise Fund, which received funding to mitigate the effects of the energy crisis, will be able to use these funds also to finance post-flood relief efforts in companies. In July, the government already increased the fund's assets by a total of EUR 20 million for this year and 2024.