The Slovenian government - at the time still led by Alenka Bratušek - called for assistance in February, after the country was rocked by massive amounts of ice. Countries are eligible for aid if the direct damage caused by natural disasters exceeds three billion euros, or 0.6 percent of gross domestic product.

In the case of Slovenia, the estimated damage in its 160 municipalities amounted to 1.5 percent of its GDP. So far, Slovenia has received assistance from the European Union Solidarity Fund three times, but until now it was always to deal with autumn floods, namely 8.3 million in 2007, 7.5 million in 2010 and € 14 million in 2012.