Prime Minister Miro Cerar said he would present his candidate for new finance minister in August, adding that the government would continue on its set course.

At a joint press conference, Mramor said the reasons for his decision were purely personal, while Cerar said he knew what these reasons were and that he respected Mramor's decision.

Mramor highlighted Slovenia's exiting the excessive deficit procedure this spring as his ministry's main achievement. The country was also removed from the list of countries with excessive macroeconomic imbalances and its credit ratings have improved, he noted.

Looking back on his work at the ministry, he sees no major slips.

Cerar said that Mramor's resignation would not change the government's policies and that the cabinet would continue to strive for its goals, including as regards public finances.

He said the Finance Ministry had achieved a lot under Mramor's leadership.

Smerkolj will temporarily take over from Mramor tomorrow, the prime minister explained.