STA, 27 May 2020 - Slovenia will be eligible to receive EUR 5.071 billion from the EU's coronavirus recovery plan, shows an European Commission document, which has not yet been formally released. It will be able to receive EUR 2.579 billion in grants and EUR 2.492 billion in loans.
Slovenia will be able to draw the EUR 2.579 billion in grants from various instruments, not just the new recovery and resilience fund.
These include the new cohesion instrument ReactEU and the strengthened Just Transition Fund and the Regional Development Fund.
To receive the money from the recovery and resilience fund, a member state will have to draft a reform and investment plan setting out the expenditure, which will have to be approved at EU level.
The Commission will present the instruments in detail on Thursday, when the official breakdown by member state will also be published.
The Commission proposes a EUR 750 billion fund to help the economies of member states cope with the post-coronavirus reality, Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni tweeted on Wednesday.
EUR 500 billion will be earmarked for grants and EUR 250 billion for loans, but details are yet to be presented.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is presenting it to the European Parliament, which will then further discuss it.
The prime minister's office said that the proposal was a "step in the right direction" and that Slovenia would take a clear position on it after making a thorough analysis, supported with adequate calculations.
The office added that "Slovenia has always advocated an ambitious and future-oriented EU multi-year budget" and that the proposals presented by Von der Leyen would certainly be helpful in tackling the economic impact of the pandemic.
"By doing so, the European Union will contribute to the extensive efforts of member states for kick-starting the economy while also making a decisive step towards strengthening the internal EU market."
The office added that, when it came to the European Commission's proposal, Slovenia would be "particularly attentive to its priority areas such as cohesion policy."
Slovenian MEPs meanwhile said that Slovenia's success in drawing from the recovery and resilience fund would depend on the country's authorities, while assessing the entire proposal as a sign that there is still solidarity in the EU.
The European People's Party (EPP) MEPs believe that the EUR 5.1 billion for Slovenia is an excellent result and opportunity, and that the Slovenian government is able to draw such an amount in what is a demanding and responsible job.
Tanja Fajon and Milan Brglez (S&D/SD) said that Slovenia would need a good reform and investment plan and noted that the phasing of the funds would be conditional on priorities such as environment, digitalisation and resilience.
Klemen Grošelj (Renew/LMŠ) assessed that this is an opportunity for Slovenia to get very favourable funds for tackling the coronavirus crisis. They can significantly contribute to stabilisation and mitigation of consequences, he added.
