What is most important for Slovenia, a net beneficiary, is how much funds will be available for the agricultural and cohesion policy.

The country has already come to terms that the cohesion funds will drop by at least 9% compared to the 2014-2020 financial perspective, but the delay in the negotiations on the seven-year budget brings risk that Slovenia gets even less.

"But regardless of how much money is available, what is important is that it is used for projects which make sense and which are useful."

Finance notes that the real problem is whether the state will be able to prepare and finalise useful projects, with an action report on the phasing of EU funds for 2014-2020 noting that one of the problems was lower performance when it comes to research, development and innovation projects in the eastern cohesion region.

"We point to only one thing which implies that we have problems when it comes to ideas and implementation," the paper says, adding that the relevant information system had been so problematic until the mid-2019 that the European Commission had almost suspended refunds.

"But this is a (long) story for itself," concludes the commentary headlined If There Are No Ideas, a Large Pie Does Not Help.