Dr Aleksander Jevšek, Minister for Development and European Cohesion Policy, welcomed the approval of the programme saying that ''we are committed to having the programme approved by both cohesion regions.''

According to Minister Jevšek, the programme that the Government approved last week is a good one. ''It is really important that we reached a consensus on the document with all the various stakeholders. However, with the uncertainty surrounding the war in Ukraine and energy crisis, we may be forced to amend the programme next year to accommodate the new developments and circumstances,'' highlighted the Minister.

The Minister was confident that Slovenia would finalise the procedures related to the preparation of the programme by the end of the year. Together with the partnership agreement, the programme is one of the two fundamental documents underlying the use of Cohesion Policy funds. ''We will present the latest programme version at the meeting of the development council of cohesion region Zahodna Slovenija. This will be followed by formal submission of the programme to the European Commission. We expect the European Commission to approve the programme by the end of the year, so that we can start using the funds available under the 2021-2027 programming period in the beginning of next year.''

The Programme for the implementation of Cohesion Policy in the period 2021-2027 and the Partnership Agreement between Slovenia and the European Commission are the two fundamental documents paving the way to around 3.2 billion euros of EU funding in Slovenia in the programming period 2021-2027. The Cohesion Policy Programme translates commitments and investment strategy set out in the Partnership Agreement into action on the ground.

The Partnership Agreement sets out that in the programming period 2021-2027, which will end in 2029, Slovenia will earmark:

• EUR 806 million for a green and low-carbon transition; for investments in wind and solar energy capacities and improved energy efficiency of buildings;
• EUR 727 million for research, development and innovation; for investments in research infrastructure and research capacity;
• EUR 769 million for social inclusion, employment, education and training;
• EUR 511 million for sustainable and smart mobility; for investments in modernisation of public passenger transport, especially rail network; 
• EUR 95 million for territorial approaches, such as urban and local development; 
• EUR 250 million for the Savinjsko-Šaleška region for shifting away from coal, and for restructuring of the Zasavje region. 

The Partnership Agreement was signed last week in Ljubljana by Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, and dr Aleksander Jevšek, Minister for Development and European Cohesion Policy.