The Slovenian government approved a bill on the gradual closure of the Velenje coal mine, a key element of the country’s coal phase-out strategy running until 2033, MTI reported. The cabinet is allocating more than 1.13 billion euros for the period between 2026 and 2045, with an annual schedule of roughly 50 million euros.
The legislation includes a detailed 20-year closure programme and a two-year operational plan. The exact implementation will be defined by annual programmes.
Jože Novak, Minister of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning, underlined that the closure works must be financed from the Velenje coal mine’s own resources, while the state will cover only the resulting shortfall. The bill also provides for social measures to support workers, including options for early professional retirement, severance packages and retraining programmes.
The sole consumer of coal from the Velenje mine is the nearby Šoštanj thermal power plant, for which the Slovenian parliament adopted a closure law last year. With the adoption of these two related pieces of legislation, the cohesion ministry will begin drafting a separate law on the comprehensive restructuring of the entire region.