It remains unclear how much money Slovenia will have to invest in bank restructuring next year and it is also not known how high its borrowing costs will be.

Presenting the budget bill to the committee, Finance Minister Uroš Čufer urged the MPs to refrain from speculating about the results of ongoing bank stress tests, as this could do more harm than good.

Once the banks are recapitalised, Slovenia still faces the demanding task of restructuring its economy, said the minister, adding that this may be more extensive than expected. However, it is vital that Slovenia establishes a healthy business environment, he underlined.

Opposition MPs wanted to know how high Slovenia's borrowing costs will be in 2014. The minister could not provide an answer, saying that the costs will depend on bank stress test results, deleveraging of companies, progress of privatisation and fiscal consolidation.

"It would be very good if a law were passed with the support of all, including the opposition. This would be an important signal showing that everybody is on the same side," the minister told the MPs.

The government has already adopted several measures to boost budget expenditure, including a VAT hike effective as of 1 July, changes to income tax and a new real estate tax, which is expected to bring in EUR 205m a year.

Apart from the real estate tax, other major money sources for the budget include corporate income tax, VAT and measures fighting grey economy, according to the minister.

The opposition Democrats (SDS) have already announced that they will not support the budget. SDS MP Marko Pogačnik wondered how the government can expect to double revenue from corporate income tax considering the situation in the economy.

Another SDS MP, Andrej Šircelj, believes that "this budget will not get Slovenia out of the crisis". He also said that revenue projections to be unrealistic and the budget lacks measures to help the economy climb back into the black.

Deputy groups drafted 20 amendments to the budget document; however, only one was adopted. The committee okayed additional EUR 250,000 for the Office for National Minorities.

The committee continues the session with a discussion on the budget implementation bill for 2014 and 2015. It is unclear how long it will take them to complete the debate.