The body overseeing Slovenia's adherence to the fiscal compact initially estimated the first and third stimulus package - the two that were implemented so far - at EUR 2.3 billion in total or 5.1% of GDP.

It published a review of actual expenditure in May and June and now further updated the analysis with data in by 5 July. By this date, the actual costs of the measures are slightly less than EUR 1.1 billion, with EUR 259 million coming on top of this in the from of postponed tax commitments.

The bulk of the costs so far has stemmed from the first package, but additional costs are expected as a result of the partial subsidising of short-time work, the centrepiece of third stimulus package introduced in June and available until the end of the year. The Employment Service received applications covering 25,000 workers, but there have been no payments yet.

While the second stimulus package, a guarantee scheme for loans to companies worth EUR 2 billion has not yet been rolled out in practice, the government also adopted a fourth package at the end of July that extended the state's subsidising of temporarily redundant workers by up to two months.

The Fiscal Council said that this measures, along with the partial subsidising of short-time work, was in line with the recommendations of international organisations, which advise that countries phase out support measure only gradually.