She told the Committee for Finance and Monetary Policy that Slovenia needs to improve its management of state companies and focus budget spending on areas that would spur faster economic growth.

"We need sustainable public finance policy which supports the shaping of a better business environment, which is a precondition for stable and lasting economic growth and the well-being of citizens," Erman said.

Parliament is expected to confirm Erman's appointment later in September to replace Dusan Mramor, who resigned in July citing personal reasons.

Erman, 50, is a legal expert by profession and has worked at the ministry of finance since 1993. She has been a state secretary at the ministry for most of the past six years, dealing mainly with budget and taxes. She is not politically affiliated.

Slovenia, which narrowly avoided an international bailout for its banks in 2013, returned to growth in 2014 and expects its economy to expand by about 2.7 percent this year compared with 2.3 percent in 2015.

Last year the country managed to reduce the budget deficit to below 3 percent of GDP, which is the ceiling for euro zone members, after running excessive deficits for six years.