Ljubljana, 14 October (STA) - The parliamentary Economy Committee on Tuesday endorsed the proposed changes to the 2026 state budget and the draft budget for 2027, which increase funding for the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport from EUR 209 million this year to EUR 265 million in 2026, before funds drop to EUR 257 million in 2027.
"The allocations will allow the ministry to continue its work in supporting competitiveness and assisting the economy at the same pace," said Economy Minister Matjaž Han.
He said the ministry would stay the course on boosting competitiveness, promoting small and medium-sized enterprises, investing in research and development, and supporting sustainable tourism and sports.
The Industry and Entrepreneurship Directorate will remain the largest beneficiary with a budget allocation of EUR 77.5 million, including EUR 55.7 million for investment incentives for major foreign investors expected to bring a total of about EUR 1 billion to Slovenia.
EUR 56 million has been set aside for sports in 2026, of which EUR 21 million will go toward sports infrastructure and EUR 16 million to elite sports programmes. "These are figures we are very proud of," Han said.
State Secretary at the Ministry for Cohesion and Regional Development Srečko Đurov underlined the government's commitment to balanced regional development, noting that 265 projects were included in agreements across all 12 development regions.
Committee members mostly welcomed the rise in funds for new technologies and sports investments. However, opposition MP Andrej Kosi of the Democratic Party (SDS) cautioned that "while we are raising funds for development and innovation, both budgets still show a large deficit; with such high employment, we should be in surplus."
Another opposition MP, New Slovenia's (NSi) Franc Medic, pointed out that "some companies are burdened with new costs, while others receive huge subsidies." Han replied that without state aid, major companies such as Novartis, Sandoz and Revoz would have invested in other countries.
