The Commission, which announced the macroeconomic review for dozen countries yesterday, said Slovenia's problem was fast accumulation of internal imbalances with high growth in unit labour costs, private sector credit and house prices.

The highly leveraged banking sector is under considerable strain as the economy is now in the early stages of a difficult deleveraging process, the EU report said.

The Labour, Family and Social Affairs Ministry said in its response for the STA that the ministry would "participate as much as possible in the drawing up of the review" and would prepare measures to do away with any imbalances detected as soon as the review was concluded.

"It is clear that measures which are envisaged also in the coalition agreement must be implemented immediately," the ministry added, highlighting measures to reduce labour costs (cap on social security contributions, tax breaks) and creating conditions for economic growth and job creation.

Žerjav meanwhile said during his yesterday's visit to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) that the government would include measures to decrease financial burdens for businesses into the planned supplementary budget.

Much can be done to create a more friendly and competitive business environment only with good will, he believes. "Some administrative measures for the economy turn into money in the end," he added.