The government proposed in March to extend the transitional period before opening Slovenia's labour market to Croatian workers by two more years, until 30 June 2020.
The government argued that restrictions on hiring Croatian workers and their family members depending on the needs of the Slovenian labour market would ensure labour market stability.
However, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) and Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek opposed the extension of restrictions at a time when Slovenian companies were facing a shortage of staff.
Počivalšek said that it would not be good having the northern border open to Slovenian workers and the southern closed to those from Croatia.
The last time parliament extended the restrictions was in June 2015, for the period until 1 July this year.
If Slovenia wanted another extension it would have to notify the European Commission by 30 June, five years since Croatia joined the EU.
Apart from Slovenia, only Austria has so far announced it will extend labour market restrictions for Croatia by another two years, while Malta, the Netherlands and the UK are to lift restrictions on 1 July.
