The proposal for the long-term EU budget is, in Slovenia’s opinion, going in the right direction

Jul 18, 2025 - 12:00
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The proposal for the long-term EU budget is, in Slovenia’s opinion, going in the right direction

Brussels – The proposal for the upcoming long-term EU budget (MFF), presented by the European Commission on Wednesday, is seen by Slovenia as a step in the right direction, said State Secretary at the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Marko Štucin. Regarding the available funds for Slovenia, the outlook is currently positive, he assessed upon arriving at the meeting of EU member states’ ministers.

“Slovenia is generally satisfied with what the Commission has put on the table. We see this as a proposal that still allows for quite a few negotiation possibilities, but it is heading in the right direction,” Štucin said before the first ministerial discussion on the Commission’s proposal.

According to him, the nearly 2000 billion euro EU budget for the period 2028-2034 offers a good balance between existing instruments, such as cohesion and agricultural policy, and new priorities, such as economic competitiveness and resilience. However, Slovenia might wish for an even more ambitious budget, he said regarding the scope of the proposed MFF.

The idea of introducing national-regional plans, based on which member states will receive funds for cohesion and agriculture, also represents the right direction, the State Secretary stated.

According to the breakdown by the European Commission, Slovenia will have 5.4 billion euros of European funds available under the plan for implementing cohesion, agricultural, and some other policies. At the beginning of the current MFF, it had 3.2 billion euros available for cohesion and 1.8 billion euros for implementing agricultural policy.

Štucin does not expect significant cuts in the available funds for Slovenia.

The proposal for the MFF has also been responded to by the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry of Slovenia (KGZS), which believes that it leads to the dismantling of the common agricultural policy. KGZS President Jože Podgoršek urged the government to prevent the loss of fundamental gains for Slovenian farmers in the MFF negotiations. (July 17 and 18)