Brussels - Finance Minister Andrej Šircelj is confident that Slovenian businesses will soon find markets to substitute for Russia and that the economy will cope with the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

Speaking after a virtual emergency meeting of the EU finance ministers, Šircelj said the sanctions imposed on Russia would extremely weaken Russia's economy but would also hurt EU members.

The biggest impact is expected on the members that depend the most on Russian energy, but Šircelj said no figures or comparable analysis were discussed today, it was just an exchange of views.

He said Slovenia had an extremely robust financial system and sufficient reserves to support the economy.

"Slovenia's economy is such that it will find alternative markets and buyers very quickly," he told Brussels correspondents online, promising the state would help the affected sectors, in particular in opening up markets.

Slovenia has no estimates yet how the war and sanctions will affect the economy. Russian aggression will definitely not boost growth but the impact in Slovenia will be much smaller than in other countries, said the minister.

This follows from the Finance Ministry's initial analyses but there are still many unknowns, especially as it is not clear how long the war will go on, what the counter-measures will be and what the long-term effect of the current sanctions will be.

Asked by a reporter how potential Russian counter-measures in the steel industry would affect the Slovenian economy, Šircelj said he could not provide any information as yet.

The war in Ukraine entails a risk of higher energy and food prices and higher inflation and the European financial sectors need to get ready for that, he said.

In May and June, ministers will take a closer look at what the war in Ukraine means for the reform of the European fiscal rules and the escape clause introduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which allows for maximum flexibility in the enforcement of those rules and is to continue to apply until the end of the year.

The war in Ukraine could mean that the freeze on budgetary rules could continue into next year.

The European Commission is expected to present financial projections in mid-March of what the war in Ukraine means for the EU's GDP, inflation and public finances.

Touching on the impact of sanction on the Russian economy, Šircelj said the Russian central bank had raised the interest rate to 20%, the rouble depreciated by 30% and the impact would also be huge on the whole Russian society, in particular the financial system and the economy.

The ministers also discussed expanding sanctions but did not take any concrete decisions. They urged the European Central Bank and the Commission to examine ways to prevent evasion of sanctions by means of cryptocurrencies.