Slovenian R&D boost approved as country starts Council presidency

Commission approval of country’s Covid recovery plan should channel over €100m into research

Slovenia’s six-month stint leading the Council of the EU began with a boost for research, as the European Commission gave a green light to a the country’s €2.5 billion Covid-19 recovery plan.

The plan allocates €132 million in grants for research, development and innovation and is linked to a promise to pass a long-awaited reform law that will set a minimum spending limit of 1 per cent of GDP for R&D in Slovenia. While EU figures show this spending did not fall below 1.87 per cent of GDP between 2011-2019, researchers have said they are worried about cuts if a pandemic recession hits before the act is passed.