The government adopted last week a budgeting framework decree for the 2018-2020 period, stipulating that a surplus of 0.2% of GDP would be reached for the government budget by 2019.

In what was its first action after it became operative recently with a long delay, the Fiscal Council, which oversees the implementation of the fiscal compact, commented on the new framework by calling for a more determined fiscal effort.

The government rejected this today, arguing that the structural surplus of 0.25% set for Slovenia by the European Commission for 2019 as a mid-term goal would be a too demanding target that could undermine the economy.

Finance Minister Mateja Vraničar Erman told the parliamentary Finance Committee that the government had thus decided to pursue it own fiscal rule that entails a more gradual fiscal consolidation.

She stressed Slovenia was meeting the mid-term fiscal demands, since it was honouring the demanded average fiscal effort for the 2016-2019 period.

The minister, who highlighted the austerity measures that have enabled this, added the government took the recommendations of the Fiscal Council very seriously but felt that changes to the proposed budgeting framework decree were not necessary.

This did not convince all members of the committee, with Andrej Šircelj of the opposition Democrats (SDS) for instance expressing doubt the decree was compliant with the fiscal rule and thereby with the Constitution.

The opposition United Left (ZL) took the opposite view, arguing the government had in fact sped up consolidation and put the welfare state in peril.

While confirming the decree, the Finance Committee, along with the economy and labour committees, also got acquainted today with the draft National Reform Programme for 2017-2018 that Slovenia needs to send to the European Commission.

The draft outlines structural reforms, including for healthcare and the long-term care system, announces further changes to the pensions system, the labour market, the financing of municipalities, the public sector pay system, and real estate taxation.

MPs generally welcomed the programme, but the opposition doubts it is realistic, pointing out for instance that the government has only one or two months left for healthcare and long-term care reform in line with the programme's timeline.