A final decision on what is seen as a key step to putting Slovenia's public finances on a sustainable footing has been postponed several times as parties were unable to agree when it should take effect.

The opposition parties, which authored the proposal last year while still in government, have been seeking implementation in 2015, arguing that Slovenia needed to send a strong message to financial markets.

The government has sought to defer the year of implementation to 2017 owing to the soaring budget deficit, but Bratušek decided yesterday to accept 2015 as the deadline, under the condition that budget balancing could be deferred if necessary.