The meeting of the Development Council of the Vzhodna Slovenija cohesion region was also attended by all members of Pomurska, Podravska, Posavska, Koroška, Savinjska, Zasavska, Jugovzhodna and Primorsko-notranjska development region councils, their appointed substitutes, the teams from the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and the Ministry of Infrastructure as well as the representatives of regional development agencies. The participants discussed eight agenda items.

State Secretary Kirbiš Rojs was invited to present the report on the use of Cohesion Policy funding by 31 December 2021 that was prepared by the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy and the progress made in implementing the corresponding action plan.

State Secretary also touched on the Recovery and Resilience Plan, which forms the basis for the use of the funding available under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. This massive financial mechanism under the NextGenerationEU instrument will, together with the funding available under REACT-EU, the Just Transition Fund and rural development, propel recovery and twin transition in the country in the post-covid period.

State Secretary also highlighted the funding opportunities under the programming period 2021-2027. The project co-financing rate will stand at a maximum of 40% in the Zahodna Slovenija cohesion region and up to 85% in the Vzhodna Slovenija cohesion region in the upcoming period. Ms Kirbiš Rojs stressed that Slovenia will have a total of EUR 3.2 billion available in the funding period 2021-2027 by the end of 2029.

State Secretary also gave an overview of the programming process which is currently underway. The multiannual financial framework 2021-2027 pursues six headline objectives (a smarter Europe, a greener Europe, a more connected Europe, a more social Europe, Europe closer to citizens, and the Just Transition Fund). Draft programming documents have been sent to the European Commission for consultation. The next weeks will see intense consultations with the relevant stakeholders.

The discussion mostly revolved around territorial approaches, i.e. integrated territorial investments, community-led local development and agreement on the development of region.

Draft 2022 work programme of the Development Council of the Vzhodna Slovenija cohesion region and the corresponding financial plan were presented at the end of the meeting.