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LJUBLJANA, March 19 (Reuters) - Growth in Slovenia, euro zone's fastest expanding economy in the past two years, is likely to be negative this year, a government minister said on Thursday.
"The data for Germany, Italy and France is a serious warning that this (negative growth) is a very realistic possibility " Mitja Gaspari, minister of European affairs and development told a news conference in response to a Reuters question.
Gaspari also said the government would from April offer state guarantees for bank loans to companies in the value of 1.2 billion euros ($1.62 billion), up from 1 billion euros planned in February.
He said the law enabling such guarantees was expected to be adopted by parliament at the end of March.
"Economic conditions are such that this law is more than necessary," said Gaspari, adding that the law was designed to "ensure normal operation of the credit market".
So far the government hoped Slovenia would have a mild growth but the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of Slovenia said last week they expected Slovenia would this year have a negative growth of at least minus 1 percent of GDP.
Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004 and adopted the euro three years later. It posted a record 6.8 percent economic growth in 2007, but growth halved in 2008, mainly due to the global crisis. (Reporting by Marja Novak, Editing by Ron Askew)