Pomurje, whose 17.8% unemployment rate is the highest in the country, received EUR 19m by the end of 2014 and is expected to get another EUR 4.4m this year. The changes will enable it to also make use the outstanding EUR 9.6m.

State Secretary at the Economic Development and Technology Ministry Margareta Guček Zakošek said that the delays at the outset of the scheme had been related to the time needed to launch certain activities, while budget shortfalls had been the problem in recent years.

She assessed that the situation in Pomurje was improving, but that the unemployment rate remained high. Even a bigger problem is the high share of the long-term unemployed.

The MPs meanwhile stressed the importance of making targeted use of the funds, while they also noted the need to secure aid to a number of other Slovenian regions.