(LJUBLJANA) - Slovenia, under criticism from the European Commission, denied Thursday that recently introduced road vignettes discriminated against short-term visitors.

"Slovenia's position remains unchanged unless we receive some additional arguments," junior transport minister Peter Verlic told journalists.

The European Commission said earlier it had sent Slovenia "a letter of formal notice to stop discriminatory treatment of occasional users on Slovenian toll roads."

The dispute is over road stickers for cars and motorbikes that Ljubljana introduced in July. They are valid only for six or 12 months.

This worked against foreign nationals or foreign residents who only occasionally used Slovenia's motorway network compared to Slovenian nationals or Slovenian residents, the Commission said in a statement on its website.

Slovenia should allow foreign residents transiting through the country to buy a shorter-term vignette, the Commission suggested.

The motorway stickers, which cost 35 euros (55 dollars) for six months and 55 euros for a year, have also been criticised by automobile associations and tourist organisations in Germany and Austria.

Their nationals often drive through Slovenia to their holiday destinations in Croatia, Greece or Turkey.

But Slovenia's transport ministry said in a statement Thursday: "There is no direct or indirect discrimination (of foreign drivers) since both domestic and foreign users have equal possibilities to use the vignettes."

Verlic added: "The introduction brought exactly what the government expected: better flow on the highways, less waiting at tolls and a reduction of transit on local roads."

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