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All projects on the list will have to meet environmental and other EU standards, which the disputed gas terminal does not, Joe Hennon, the spokesperson for Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger told the press on Tuesday.

He moreover said that Slovenia and Italy could negotiate about the project until 20 September. The list, which is to receive final approval of the European Commission on 2 October, contains 130 projects, among them a gas terminal in the north Adriatic.

The loosely defined gas terminal in the north Adriatic is on the list because it is of strategic importance to have a gas terminal there, said Hennon.

Slovenia fears that this may entail a planned gas terminal in Aqulinia, a village near Trieste, only a stone's throw from the border. Slovenia has been opposing the terminal for years.

Hennon said that the Aquilinia terminal could not be hiding behind the label of a gas terminal in the northern Adriatic, because the planned Aquilinia terminal failed to meet the EU environmental requirements.

Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec said late on Monday that the Aquilinia terminal would not make it on the list and that it did not enjoy the Commission's support. Erjavec's announcement came as a surprise only hours after the government decided to vote against the list.

Slovenia decided to vote against the list to demonstrate clearly how much it objected the Aqulinia gas terminal plans, Environment Minister Samo Omerzel said yesterday.

Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek added that abstaining from the vote, which was Slovenia's initial plan, would limit the country's legal options to fight the project in the future.

Today's move by the Commission seems to be an effort to get Slovenia to support the list on Wednesday. Legally, a unanimous vote is not necessary, however the Commission wants to see political consensus on the list of 2014-2020 priority energy projects.

The Italian gas terminal in Northern Adriatic Sea is the only disputed project on the list, according to the Commission.

Meanwhile the Government Communication Office said that the cabinet will hold a correspondence session before the vote on Wednesday - most likely today - to discuss the gas terminals. No other information was provided.