Recovery and Resilience Plan

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On 21 July 2020, EU leaders reached a historic agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2021-2027 and the recovery instrument NextGenerationEU. Negotiation outcome for Slovenia was best so far, bringing the country a record level of EU funding. The agreement brings substantial additional funding to the country to facilitate and speed up post-Covid-19 recovery and support investment in green and digital transition.

The recovery instrument NextGenerationEU makes a total of EUR 5.7 billion available to Slovenia, of which EUR 3.6 billion loans and 2.1 billion grants (EUR 312 million from REACT-EU, EUR 134 million from the Just Transition Fund, EUR 1.6 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Facility and EUR 68 million for Rural Development).

Slovenian government discussed the baselines for the preparation of the national recovery and resilience plan at its regular session held on 27 August 2020. The aim was to roughly define the planned areas receiving the financial support. Initial draft recovery and resilience plan was prepared on these baselines. Draft plan was discussed and approved by the government at its regular session on 8 October 2020. Draft plan was submitted to Commission services for consultation and coordination on 19 October 2020. A series of technical meetings with Commission services on individual thematic areas of draft plan were held and consultations with the relevant stakeholders took place across the country.

Government took note of the activities concerning the preparation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan since the adoption of draft document on 8 October 2020 at its session on 23 December 2020 and called on the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy to resubmit the document for discussion and adoption after the entry into force of the Regulation establishing a Recovery and Resilience Facility.

On 28 April 2021 the Government adopted the national Recovery and Resilience Plan and authorised Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy to submit the document to the European Commission by 30 April 2021.

At its session, held on 28 April 2021, the Government adopted the national Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) which will serve as the basis for drawing on the funding available under the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF). This is the largest financial mechanism under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Package Next Generation EU in the frame of which Slovenia is also eligible to funding under the React-EU initiative, the Just Transition Fund and Rural Development.

In its RRP Slovenia has identified development areas and the related reforms and investments that will help mitigate the negative economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic and prepare the country for the challenges related to green and digital transition.

Each component within an individual development area includes interrelated reforms and investments. The relevant milestones and objectives are defined for each measure which will enable implementation monitoring. In the light of green transition efforts, none of the measures should cause significant or substantial damage to the environment.

Slovenia’s RRP development areas and components:

GREEN TRANSITION

Renewable energy and energy efficiency in the economy
Sustainable renovation of buildings
Clean and safe environment
Sustainable mobility
Circular economy – resource efficiency

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Digital transformation of the economy
Digital transformation of the public sector and public administration

SMART, SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH

RDI – Research, development and innovation
Raising productivity, a friendly business environment for investors
Labour market – measures to reduce the impact of negative structural trends
Sustainable development of tourism, including cultural heritage
Enhancing competencies, especially digital ones and those required in new professions and green transition
Effective public institutions

HEALTHCARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY

Healthcare
Social security and long-term care
Social housing

Slovenia’s RRP envisages utilisation of EUR 1.8 billion in grants and a good EUR 666 million in loans. The amount of loans may be increased if needed and if conditions for doing so are met. Given its excellent credit ratings, Slovenia has been borrowing at negative interest rates. The deadline for the Member States is August 2023.

The EU Regulation establishing a Recovery and Resilience Facility outlines that at least 37% of each Member State plan’s allocation has to support green objectives and at least 20% digital objectives. Slovenia’s RRP earmarks 43.45% for meeting green objectives and 20.05% for meeting digital objectives.

Slovenia’s RRP identifies measures and projects that can be completed by 2026; this is when the programme will come to an end. In light of the fact that the available funding is limited, the investments, measures and projects which could not have been included in the RRP will be funded in the frame of other funds, funding schemes and the state budget.

The Government has also authorised Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy to further develop the plan in accordance with the European Commission’s comments in the frame of the coordination process until the RRP is formally approved by the Council of the European Union on the basis of the European Commission’s proposal, and to administratively and technically finalise the document.

The Government has also decided that the national coordinator for RRP implementation will be a new body within the Ministry of Finance which will be formally established on 1 June 2021 and will start performing its tasks by 1 August 2021 at the latest.