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Monthly reimbursements averaged EUR 43m, up from EUR 28m in the 2008-2011 period, the Economic Development and Technology Ministry said.

In the February-December period 44 projects worth EUR 763m were confirmed and EUR 522m-worth of contracts signed.

The improvement in the absorption of funds is also reflected in Slovenia's net position to the EU budget, which stood at EUR 451m, the best result since the start of the current EU budgetary period in 2007.

The government's budgetary documents for 2013 assume EU funding to the tune of EUR 1.44m, which has been labelled as overly optimistic.

But Monika Kirbiš Rojc, state secretary at the ministry, told the STA the projects were ready, "they just need to be realized".

"We had a successful 2012, when the phasing of Cohesion Policy funds was 97%. We can be satisfied," she said.

However, she said political uncertainty could have a negative impact on the pace of absorption of EU funds.