Last week the Minister of Finance, Mateja Vraničar Erman, said it would be sensible to include all the new parliamentary parties in deciding the fate of the Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB). However, at its Thursday session, the government sent its response to the European Commission without conducting any consultations.
The government authorized minister Vraničar Erman to send the response to the EU Commission. She said she could not comment on the content of the letter, as it included classified information.

The commission to announce its decision in August
Unofficially, the decision on when the remaining parties will be included in these talks is in the hands of PM Miro Cerar. But time is running short.
It is expected that the EU Commission makes its final decision on the deadlines and extent of the privatization of NLB in a few weeks, or more likely at the start of August.

If the commission decides that Slovenia has to sell its 50 percent plus one share in the bank until the end of the year, and the remaining stake in the following year, all the other restrictions imposed on the bank’s operations will remain in place. The bank could start operating again without any restrictions, or with somewhat softer restrictions, only in the case if Slovenia sells at least 75 percent of the bank.

Regardless of the uncertain future political situation, one can only hope that Slovenia’s politicians come together when it comes to NLB, and thus ease the pressure of the financial markets on lowering the selling price.