The government is debating not only the necessary restrictive measures but also measures concerning the "economics of the processes in the public administration," Cerar told reporters after a meeting with his deputy group.

Most notably, he said a discussion would be launched on the pensioners' holiday allowance, an EUR 40m per year outlay that the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) put in the coalition contract as a condition for joining the coalition.

DeSUS held a meeting today to discuss the holiday allowance and party president Karl Erjavec indicated that the party would be ready for a compromise given the difficult financial situation.

However, DeSUS will definitely not consent to absolutely no holiday allowances being paid out as proposed by Finance Minister Dušan Mramor. Erjavec announced a political crisis should this occur, saying "DeSUS would not be able to participate in such a government".

Cerar said the government would attempt to find "compromise solutions" that will reduce the general government deficit, promote economic growth and "preserve welfare".

While Finance Ministry calculations show that the public sector will bear the brunt of the proposed spending cuts, Cerar said caution would be exercised so as not to "demotivate" civil servants.

The government's budget plans for next year are still vague, what is already clear is that spending will have to be reduced as the currently valid budget does not appear viable.

Most of the cuts will come from a reduction of the public sector wage bill (negotiations with the trade unions will start shortly), while the Finance Ministry has already announced revenue-side measures, including higher tax on banking and insurance services.

Negative reactions have already started coming from trade unions, with the education trade union SVIZ announcing it would immediately begin with preparations for a strike should the government insist on additional cuts to the wage bill.

SVIZ, which is ready to extend most of the existing measures while demanding a relaxing of the promotion freeze for some segments, pointed out that wages of teachers in Slovenia remain below OECD average.

What is more a survey conducted for the European Commission by Eurydice, the network on education systems and policies in Europe, showed that the purchasing power of Slovenian teachers is still "significantly below the level of 2009". It fell by up to 17%, while it is barely noticeable in other countries.

Also, another OECD survey showed Slovenia achieving above average results in education considering the level of expenditure, SVIZ added, noting that funds are being used very efficiently and indicating that quality could start suffering soon.

Meanwhile, other parliamentary parties were mostly reserved in their reactions, saying they were not familiar with the details or that they would not like to comment before the final version is adopted.

Especially opposition parties voiced criticism that the budget was first presented in Brussels and not in the National Assembly, while the United Left (ZL) said it expects massive cuts that will most hit social transfers and the public sector as opposed to corrupt public procurement or the "energy lobby".