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Ljubljana – The dynamics of drawing cohesion funds in Slovenia have strengthened in recent months. While Slovenia was still in last place in terms of allocated funds in the first half of the year, according to the latest data it is now in the middle of the table and at the level of the EU member state average. The cohesion ministry is forecasting a continuation of the strengthened dynamics in 2026.
According to the latest data on the European Commission’s website, Slovenia, with slightly more than 2.6 billion euros of allocated funds or support decisions, with a 58 percent share of the funds allocated to it in the multiannual 2021-2027 period (this includes 3.2 billion euros of cohesion funds and approximately 1.3 billion euros of national co-financing), ranks just above the EU average and finds itself in the company of France and Finland.
Slovenia fares worse when it comes to payments from the EU budget. By this criterion, with around 12 percent of actually drawn cohesion funds from the Brussels coffers, it still ranks at the bottom of the table; worse than it are Croatia, Ireland, Austria, Belgium and Spain.
The Minister for Cohesion and Regional Development Aleksander Jevšek is convinced that Slovenia will only continue to rise in the coming months. He attributes the acceleration of drawing in recent months to the first change this year in the spring to the European cohesion policy programme 2021-2027, to certain operational measures in the area of drawing, and to the launch of the implementation of regional development agreements and the integrated territorial investment mechanism implemented by city municipalities. (23 December)