Bertoncelj explained for the press that the Eurogroup had focused exclusively on Italy on Monday and did not discuss Slovenia and four more countries which also received letters from the Commission over inappropriate budget plans.

"It was said clearly that these were very different affairs in terms of gravity and significance," the minister stressed.

As to the warning received by Slovenia, Bertoncelj reiterated that the budget plan for 2019 sent to Brussels by the mid-October deadline had been based on the budget already adopted by the previous government in 2017, while it did already take into account the measure adopted and austerity lifted in the meantime.

In the talks in Brussels, the minister meanwhile highlighted the significance of Slovenia having a nominal government budget surplus and of the continuing reduction of its public debt, the indicator that will get additional focus in the EU in the future.

Slovenia's public debt currently stands at around 70% of GDP, while the goal is to reduce it to around 66.6% via the supplementary budget and not to take out new debt, he explained.