201st Regular Session of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia

SLOVENIA, May 14 - Today, the Government took note of information on ensuring an appropriate structural balance of public finances. It defined a set of measures that will improve the budget balance for 2026, which represents the main part of the general government balance, by EUR 370 million. As a result, the general government deficit this year would amount to the initially planned 2.9% of gross domestic product (GDP). The Government estimates that state budget revenue will be EUR 120 million higher this year, due to higher corporate income tax revenue in light of the good performance of the economy last year. An additional EUR 250 million would be obtained by reducing expenditure and through measures taken by individual ministries and the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia. According to the plans, the largest part of the adjustments would be made in the areas of defence, health and infrastructure. By 18 May 2026, the ministries will submit to the Ministry of Finance applications for the reallocation of funds to the financial plans of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and the Ministry of Education, which are showing a shortfall. This will reduce the planned general government deficit, which in the 2026 Annual Progress Report was projected at 3.4% of GDP under the no-policy-change scenario, to the initially planned deficit of 2.9% of GDP.

At its session on 7 May 2026, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted a decision instructing the Ministry of Infrastructure, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and the Motorway Company in the Republic of Slovenia, d. d. (DARS), to prepare a report on the state of traffic safety on motorways and expressways. On 8 May 2026, Minister Bratušek convened a meeting attended by representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the Police, DARS, the Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency (AVP) and representatives of those preparing road closure studies. The Minister requested that the Police and DARS prepare a detailed report on the situation at the worksite on the Primorska motorway. The report must include an analysis of traffic safety, measures already adopted to improve safety and traffic flow, and a set of concrete additional measures for more effective traffic management during works across the entire motorway infrastructure. She also requested that supervision and awareness-raising activities regarding safe and focused driving in the areas of motorway and expressway worksites be strengthened to the greatest possible extent. At the same time, the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for Infrastructure carried out inspections of worksites and prepared a report. The AVP also submitted a proposal for short-term measures, which will be taken into account, and long-term measures, which experts from the Ministry of Infrastructure will examine in cooperation with other traffic experts. Based on the findings of the Ministry of the Interior, the Police, DARS, the AVP and the inspections carried out, it can be concluded that current worksites on Slovenian motorways and expressways pose a significant challenge in terms of traffic safety and traffic flow, particularly on the busiest sections of the Primorska motorway. Analyses show that most temporary traffic arrangements have been implemented in accordance with the applicable regulations and professional guidelines, while the C2+2 traffic management system, despite narrowed lanes, enables significantly greater traffic capacity than alternative solutions with one traffic lane in each direction.

The Government issued the Ordinance amending the Ordinance on the programme for the use of Climate Fund resources for the period 2025–2028, adjusting the planned funds for 2026. The Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy decided to amend the ordinance because, due to exceptional interest in the call for battery electricity storage systems available to legal entities via Borzen from the “REPowerEU” source, the funds had been exhausted. Additional funding from the Climate Fund will enable companies that are still in the process of implementing investments to obtain a subsidy even after the closure of the public call JP REPWR SUB-HEE-PO25, as a new call with unchanged conditions will be published using these funds. With an additional EUR 10 million from the Climate Fund, companies will be able to implement approximately 200 projects.

The Government also adopted a decision determining the available amount for awarding incentives to electro-intensive companies to cover part of their electricity costs. The total funding amounts to EUR 30 million for 2026, with the maximum electricity incentive set at EUR 30 per MWh. The measure is intended to support Slovenia’s electro-intensive industry, which is an important part of exports, technological development and employment, while also being among the sectors most exposed to high energy prices and global competition. The purpose of the measure is to help companies manage electricity costs and support decarbonisation, the electrification of processes and investments in clean technologies. Over the three years for which this measure is expected to run, a total of approximately EUR 90 million is expected to be allocated to energy-intensive industry. The Government emphasises that the measure is not a classic subsidy to industry, but part of efforts to preserve industrial capacities and implement the green transition in Slovenia. In the second half of April 2026, the European Commission approved Slovenia’s state aid scheme, making Slovenia one of the first EU Member States to establish such a support mechanism. The adopted decision enables Borzen to publish a public call in the coming days and begin the procedures for awarding incentives to companies, with contracts expected to be concluded within 30 days. Companies are therefore expected to be able to start using the funds as early as June 2026.