To help Member States recover economically and socially from the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthen their resilience, and accelerate the green and digital transition, the European Commission (EC) created a comprehensive NextGenerationEU financial package in 2020. To benefit from the package’s centrepiece, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Member States have prepared their own reform and investment plans.

Slovenia has EUR 1.61 billion in grant funds and up to EUR 1.07 billion in loans available until the end of 2026 to make the investments. The state will receive the funds in ten instalments for grants and six for loans, which are linked to 205 milestones and targets of investments and reforms. The EC disburses an instalment once it has assessed that the country has satisfactorily met the milestones and targets relating to the instalment.

The government has submitted three payment requests to Brussels to date, i.e. for four instalments of grants and two of loans (64 milestones and targets in total). The country has already received payment from the first and second requests (56 milestones and targets). Together with prepayments, Slovenia has to date received EUR 841 million, of which EUR 531 million of grants and EUR 310 million of loans. The third request, totalling a net value of EUR 258 million, consisting of the fourth instalment for grants and the second for loans (eight milestones in total), is expected to be paid out in the autumn.

On the other hand, the state has already paid half a billion euros to the final recipients or project sponsors for the activities carried out.

In 3 years, the European recovery and resilience funds have been used, among other things, to:

• upgrade and equip 2 railway lines (Kranj–Jesenice and Ljubljana–Brezovica) and renovate 2 railway stations (Grosuplje and Domžale),
• complete 7 municipal drinking water supply and saving projects, and 9 urban waste water collection and treatment projects,
• provide permanent employment to more than 700 young people,
• create 20 consortia of companies that have developed their own digital development strategies,
• provide 204 public research and education institutions with an fibre optic connection above 1 Gbps and set up 40 long-distance fibre optic connections at 100 Gbps linking the data hubs of public research institutions,
• provide 16 educational institutions with 36 robotic arms, which will enable students to acquire additional skills for the careers of the future,
• provide more than 600 additional public rental or sheltered housing units in 12 locations across the country.

A number of other activities were also carried out to support the digital and green transition. Over 1000 projects have been completed, are underway or are about to be implemented. Major projects include the University of Ljubljana's new Veterinary Faculty and the premises of the Faculty of Medicine Campus on Vrazov trg, the extension of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Ljubljana University Medical Centre, and the Green Slovenian Location Framework project (digitalisation of business operations and integration of spatial, land and environmental policies).

Out of a total of 36 planned reform measures, 15 have been implemented. As part of the reform measures, a number of strategic documents and legal acts have been drafted and adopted to improve and strengthen the country's subsystems. Among others, the Investment Promotion Act, the Debureaucratisation Act, the Electricity Supply Act, the Act Regulating Alternative Fuels Infrastructure and Promoting the Transition to Alternative Fuels in Transport, and the amendment of the Housing Act have entered into force. The Digital Transformation Strategy for Companies, the Broadband Network Development Plan 2021–2025 and the Flood Risk Reduction Plan 2023–2027 were adopted.

For more information on the implementation of the RRP, please visit the website noo.gov.si. Examples of RRP projects can also be found on the interactive map of the EC.