Brdo pri Kranju - The government has adopted the national recovery and resilience plan to send it to the European Commission. The plan will serve as the basis to draw funds from the EUR 750 billion fund for recovery following the coronavirus crisis, with Slovenia expecting EUR 2.47 billion in funds.

"In the plan, Slovenia has defined development fields with relevant reforms and investments to help mitigate negative economic and social effects of the Covid-19 epidemic, and prepare the country for challenges of the green and digital transitions," the Government Communications Office said in a press release on Wednesday.

For Slovenia, the plan envisages EUR 1.8 billion in grants and some EUR 666 billion in loans. The amount of funds may be increased if demand arises and conditions for this are met.

"Given its excellent credit ratings, Slovenia has been borrowing at negative interest rates. Member states are allowed to do this until August 2023," the press release said.

Member states must earmark 37% of funds available to them for green transition goals and another 20% for digital transition goals. Slovenia's plan envisages 43.45% for green goals and 20.05% for digital goals.

The plan envisages measures and projects which can be implemented until 2026, when the programme will come to an end. Projects which could not be included in the plan will be funded from other funds, funding schemes and the state budget, the press release said.

The government has faced criticism during the drafting of the document, above all for failing to include the opposition, social partners and civil society. The government has denied this, saying the plan had been coordinated with a number of stakeholders.

Before the end of the month, the plan will be forwarded to the European Commission for assessment, which is due within two months at the most. If the Commission greenlights the plan, it will be forwarded to the EU Council, which has four weeks to approve the document.

In the best-case scenario Slovenia may look forward to receiving first funds this summer.