EU Recovery and Resilience Funds: Together towards a Common Goal of Transitioning to a Circular Economy

• Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Recovery and Resilience
• Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport

On a planet with finite resources, the use of raw materials is limited. The circular economy model addresses the preservation of increasingly scarce resources and seeks to reduce the environmental impact of their use. The objective is to ensure that products and raw materials maintain their functional and financial value over time. The transition to a low-carbon economy is a development opportunity. It brings benefits to businesses and the economy, fosters innovation and mitigates the negative environmental impact within supply chains.

Slovenia has also included measures to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in its Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).

Establishing a framework for sustainable and green transformation - reform

This reform has established a strategic and legal framework that encourages the transition to a circular economy.

· Amendments have been made to the Decree on packaging and packaging waste handling and the Decree on waste, increasing the organisational and financial responsibility of producers and encouraging the incorporation of recycled materials into new products.

· Green budgetary planning has been established, introducing a methodology for identifying and assessing elements of the public budget that affect environmental policies. This methodology has been in force since 1 January 2024.

· A one-stop shop has also been established to support businesses, in particular SMEs, in their transition to a circular economy.

The reform was implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport.

The first two milestones relating to the implementation of the reform - the Operational one-stop-shop for the circular economy and the Entry into force of amendments on extended producer responsibility and waste recovery - were claimed by Slovenia under the second request for payment, which was disbursed by the European Commission (EC) in December 2023. The third milestone, Development and application of a green budgetary planning methodology, was claimed under the fourth request for payment, which the EC paid in full in November 2025.

Integrated strategic project to decarbonise Slovenia through the transition to a circular economy - investment

The objective aimed to support businesses in their transition to a circular economy by awarding grants.

As part of this investment, the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport provided support to 154 Slovenian businesses, covering 291 projects - thereby exceeding the initial investment target of 150 projects.

In cooperation with SPIRIT Slovenia - the Slovenian Public Agency for Investments, Entrepreneurship and Internationalization, the Ministry implemented the investment in two stages. The first stage comprised strategic development projects, in which businesses developed strategies and business models for transitioning to a circular economy. The second stage enabled priority projects based on these models to be implemented, thereby contributing directly to the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The European Union contributed EUR 14.7 million in grants from the Recovery and Resilience Facility to enable this investment.

Slovenia claimed the investment milestone Co-financing decision to support businesses in the transition to a circular economy under the fourth payment request, and is claiming the investment target Number of projects to support businesses in the transition to a circular economy under the sixth payment request, submitted to the EC in March 2026.

Increased wood processing to accelerate the transition to a climate-neutral society - investment

As one of the four most forested countries in Europe, Slovenia has sufficient timber resources for long-term development based on domestic raw materials.

The objective of this investment, which forms part of the RRP, is to encourage wood-processing companies to invest in new processing capacities and to expand existing ones.

Through a public call for proposals, the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport has supported projects implemented by Slovenian businesses that adhere to environmentally friendly production principles and sustainable construction practices. This will lead to increased domestic wood processing based on environmentally friendly production processes and the efficient use of resources.

A total of EUR 28 million in Recovery and Resilience Facility grants has been earmarked for implementing the investment.

The milestone and first target relating to the investment - Grant decisions for projects supporting wood processing and Number of projects supporting wood processing - form part of the fifth payment request, which has already been positively assessed by the EC. Slovenia expects the disbursement later this month.

The second target Number of projects supporting wood processing will be included in the final, seventh payment request, which Slovenia will submit to the EC by the end of September 2026.

Slovenia is set to exceed its initial objective. Initially, the investment was expected to support at least 28 projects. To date, 46 out of a total of 56 projects have been completed.