The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 9 July 2021. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Govt engaged in voter suppression

STA, 9 July 2021 - In its latest commentary, Mladina questions the current government's law-making practices and mentions failures in the fight against the epidemic, the intensifying repression and obstruction of political participation, adding that events surrounding the latest referendum on the new water law suggest this can't be just a coincidence.

"The repressive content of the law on infectious diseases and the referendum on the new waters act suggest that there are too many coincidences to believe that this is not a deliberate obstruction of the electorate," says the commentary headlined Are These Really Just Coincidences?

"Were we naive to think that the institution of elections would not be touched?" asks Mladina and continues with listing suspicious administrative occurrences surrounding the referendum on the new water law.

The left-leaning weekly also criticized the government's handling of the Covid-19 epidemic: "They have known since March that they have big problems here, that people do not trust them, but they continued with the very same incompetent team that brought us into this situation. No reflection, no consideration, all the same nonsense and mistakes as last summer."

"Do these people really understand nothing? Or do they understand and continue doing these things deliberately because this situation suits them, because they want the country in a new lockdown, so they can continue their cultural and social revolution during this period?"

Mladina says that "nevertheless, it is worth believing that these are just coincidences or incompetence, and to behave politically." They say that voters' political behaviour was also proven by the early voting turnout in the referendum.

"If the new waters act is defeated in the referendum despite all the 'coincidences', this will send a loud and clear message to the government and the coalition."

"So far, they have been able to declare the polls unreliable and downplay the importance of protests. But if you don't allow people to have early elections, even when they made their wish clear, they will find other ways of political engagement. Underestimating people has a high price," concludes the commentary.

Reporter: Janša's problems with communication growing

STA, 5 July 2021 - The right-leaning weekly Reporter says in its latest editorial that Prime Minister Janez Janša's problems in communication with politicians and media are becoming ever bigger. Not many people can turn a routine event such as the start of the EU presidency into a scandal, says the paper.

The start of the EU presidency is usually a boring, routine event full of predictable statements and cliches. The country taking over the presidency boasts its achievements and presents its ambitious agenda for the next six months.

But in the case of Slovenia, the country's priorities and all the positive messages, which an army of clerks and PR experts has been working on, were overshadowed by the statements and actions of top Slovenian officials.

Even on 1 July, the EU's recovery after the pandemic, Conference on the Future of Europe, strengthening of security, preserving the European way of life and respect for the rule of law were not the main topics of media reports on Slovenia.

Instead, media have been writing for a few days about photographs and swines and ice-cold relations between Janša and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.

The most credit for this goes to Janša himself, who again made his domestic resentments towards media and judiciary international as the delegation from Brussels paid a visit.

It was almost inevitable that he will do it sometime in the next six months, but it was expected he will pick better timing and do it more successfully.

A photo of judges at a picnic hosted by the SocDems is not something that would shock von der Leyen and European commissioners. She made it clear that judges can be members or sympathisers of political parties.

Moreover, not long ago court proceedings involving Janša were cancelled because of jurors who were members of his Democrats (SDS).

And by attacking the SocDems, Janša offered Frans Timmermans, the European Commission vice-president from the ranks of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), a chance to make a scandal b

All our posts in this series are here

What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

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FRIDAY, 2 July
        OHRID, North Macedonia - President Borut Pahor made a case for the EU's rapid enlargement to the Western Balkans as he addressed the Prespa Forum Dialogue, arguing that this was in the interest of the EU and would strengthen the bloc as well as the region. The president said continued enlargement was instrumental to the stability and prosperity of the Western Balkans.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Parliament President David Sassoli said Slovenia's EU presidency had a great responsibility to defend EU values and the rule of law, noting on Twitter that the appointment of Slovenia's prosecutors to the European Public Prosecutor's Office was a way to guarantee transparency and protect legal rights.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs raised eyebrows at a briefing for Brussels correspondents, as they interpreted one of his replies as taking aim at European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans with a pearls-to-swine metaphor. It later transpired that the comment was referring to Slovenia's member of the European Commission, Janez Lenarčič, over claims that he opposed the confirmation of the national recovery plan. The Commission denied the claim saying the plan had been approved unanimously.
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary inquiry commission investigating the government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis held its first interviews, hearing that two epidemiologists had quit the government advisory group as they had too little say in the decisions.
        ZAGREB, Croatia - The Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) gave Slovenia's energy company Petrol a green light on the takeover of Croatian petroleum products seller Crodux. It also cleared the acquisition of electric cable manufacturer Elka by Slovenia's Iskra electronics group.
        LJUBLJANA - The Commission for Corruption Prevention (KPK) has found no conflict of interest in the case of Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak in connection to the construction of the Mokrice hydro plant on the Sava river. The matter was investigated after the KPK received several reports of suspected conflict of interest.
        LJUBLJANA - The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) will be chaired for the next two years by Jana Kolar, the Slovenian representative to ESFRI and a member of its executive board. Kolar will take up her two-year term in 2022 as the first Slovenian and the first woman in this post, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport said.
        LJUBLJANA - The director of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Bojan Veselinovič, proposed to the government an agreement that would temporarily sort out the relations between the STA and the Government Communication Office (UKOM) since the agency has been without public funding of its service for over 180 days.
        CHALON SUR SAONE, France - Slovenia's Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) won stage 7 of the Tour de France from La Vierzon to Le Creusot and took the polka dot jersey for the best climber.

SATURDAY, 3 July
        ČRNA NA KOROŠKEM - President Borut Pahor spoke at a traditional get-together at the Najevnik Linden Tree to emphasise the importance of respectful dialogue and people listening to each other. He urged people to try to talk to those who think differently and look for compromises for the common good.
        ANNECY, France - Slovenian rider Tadej Pogačar has taken the overall lead at the Tour de France after an individual attack that secured him the fourth place in the 150.8-km eight stage of the prestigious race from Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand.

SUNDAY, 4 July
        KAUNAS, Lithuania - The Slovenian national basketball qualified for the Olympic Games for the first time after NBA star Luka Dončič led the team to a 96:85 win against Lithuania in the final of one of the four qualifying tournaments.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenian cycling star Primož Roglič decided to leave the Tour de France early due to injuries he sustained in the early stages of the race.
        
MONDAY, 5 July
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša highlighted the EU's post-pandemic recovery and resilience as a clear response to crises as he presented the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency to the National Assembly. He said successive crises since 2008 had shown that the bloc had been poorly prepared for the majority of these crises.
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša called for joint efforts to convince people to get vaccinated against coronavirus as he warned that a vaccination rate of 70% would have to be achieved until the end of the summer if Slovenia is to avoid new lockdowns. He said this was the only way to prevent having to make vaccination mandatory for certain professional groups.
        LJUBLJANA - Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj said he was doing everything in his power to get trade unions back to the negotiating table after they quit the Economic and Social Council (ESS) in May, yet under the condition that they refrain from taking part in anti-government protests.
        LJUBLJANA - More restrictions on the services sector were lifted. Casinos fully reopened and restrictions on the number of customers in shops were lifted. The rule of reconvalescence, testing or vaccination remains in place indoors.
        
TUESDAY, 6 July
        STRASBOURG, France - PM Janez Janša told the European Parliament the time had come for the EU to start acting more strategically, including in the Western Balkans. Presenting the Slovenian EU presidency's priorities, he said the first short-term priority was to do everything to prevent the fourth wave of the pandemic.
        STRASBOURG, France - MEPs from the majority of political groups in the European Parliament sent PM Janez Janša some stark messages about the rule of law after he presented Slovenia's EU presidency priorities in the Parliament. Most of the criticism centred on the non-appointment of European delegated prosecutors, media freedom and independent judiciary.
        STRASBOURG, France - PM Janez Janša did not wish to comment on the European political future of his Democrats (SDS) as he visited Strasbourg to address the European Parliament. Asked about the SDS's membership in the European People's Party (EPP), he said that his party was not dealing with such issues but was focused on current challenges.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec hosted ministers in charge of transport from Slovenia's neighbouring countries and the Western Balkans to discuss efforts to improve cross-border connectivity between the EU and the region. He said a proposal to adopt appropriate measures to boost connectivity would be presented at an EU-Western Balkans summit in October.
        LJUBLJANA - Proponents of the referendum on the waters act have sharply criticised the organisation of the voting, alleging voter suppression regarding information on how and where people can vote early and polling station staffing. There were reports of long waiting lines in Ljubljana, where there was just one polling station for early voting, and confusion in Maribor, where there were seven instead of one.

WEDNESDAY, 7 July
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed an emergency bill worth EUR 243.5 million to help tourism and other sectors most affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. The legislation also brings a series of measures to help companies in tourism, convention industry, restaurants, sports and culture.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed amendments to the communicable diseases act after the Constitutional Court declared parts of the act and by extension the measures introduced during the epidemic unconstitutional. The amended act determines that expert assessments are required for some measures, and that certain indicators must be taken into account when restrictions are adopted.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed a bill on emergency measures in healthcare which the government had fast-tracked through parliament. The bill, worth EUR 66.6 million, introduces some temporary measures to deal with the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic while also seeking to cut long waiting times.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission projects that Slovenia's economy will expand by 5.7% this year, a 0.8-point increase on its May forecast. The outlook for 2020 was slightly downgraded to 5%. It said Slovenia's recovery was buoyed by growing private spending, investments and exports, with merchandise exports already at pre-crisis levels.
        LJUBLJANA - The Interior Ministry's oversight of police tasks and powers at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has revealed several shortcomings, including too long investigations and mistakes related to house searchers. Based on the report, Minister Aleš Hojs believes that "certain staff changes" should be made at the NBI.
        RIGA, Latvia - Slovenian Defence Minister Matej Tonin visited the Slovenian soldiers serving in NATO's mission Enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia. Together with his Montenegrin and Macedonian counterparts, Olivera Injac and Radmila Šekerinska, he met the mission's senior officers at the Adazi base.

THURSDAY, 8 July
        SOFIA, Bulgaria - President Borut Pahor met his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev to discuss Bulgaria's veto on North Macedonia's bid to join the EU. The presidents are personally committed to see a compromise solution that would pave the way for the start of North Macedonia's EU accession talks, Pahor's office said.
        LJUBLJANA - The government abolished the quarantine requirement for people who come to Slovenia from countries and areas listed as red and dark red and show proof that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 or have recently recovered from the disease as of this Saturday.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia should improve the use of digital tools and new technologies in the judiciary and continue training justice professionals to use them, European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said as he presented a report on the judiciary in the EU, ninth so far. He urged Slovenia to appoint its European delegated prosecutors.
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar presented via videolink the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), highlighting the EU's resilience, economic recovery and the Conference on the Future of Europe.
        NOVO MESTO - Pharmaceutical group Krka posted a net profit of EUR 177.4 million for the first half of the year, up 11% on the back of sales that reached EUR 808.6 million, a 1% increase over the same period last year, CEO Jože Colarič said

STA, 9 July 2021 - Voters will be heading to the polls on Sunday to support or reject a set of changes to the waters act passed on 30 March. The government and the bill's opponents have presented diametrically opposing views on whether the new legislation expands or limits construction in areas around bodies of water.

Coastal or embankment areas are currently defined as five or 15 metres from the perimeter of a body of water such as the sea, lake or river.

Under Article 14 of the existing waters act, the government can narrow coastal or embankment areas on the proposal of developers, but only under certain conditions.

Construction is now allowed only in an existing building plot within a town, it must not worsen flood safety or threat of erosion, and must not affect water quality.

If a coastal or embankment area is narrowed, however, no special safety measures regarding construction apply to it, despite the closeness of water.

The new act regulates this in Article 37, which the referendum proponents find the most problematic.

Although it introduces the provision that a water permit will have to be obtained for all construction projects, it no longer requires building only within an existing building plot within a developed area.

The opponents claim this significantly expands areas eligible for construction if municipal zoning plans are changed, which is easy under pressure from capital.

But the government says that the new Article 37 expands the strict rules from coastal and embankment areas to water areas and areas of intermittent lakes, as it prevents construction there, except for certain exceptions.

The exceptions are among others construction of public or utility infrastructure, including for the country's defence, or buildings constructed for public good, including hotels and restaurants.

Several types of construction related to water protection are also allowed along the construction for safe navigation or protection of people, animals or property.

These exceptions have been transposed from the existing law into the new one, with two more added: simple buildings and buildings for public use.

While the opponents admit that a few simple buildings will do no harm to waters, they believe a cumulative effect could be extremely harmful.

Since 2008 when the law enabled narrowing of coastal and embankment areas, there have been very few exceptions approved, which the opponents see as the existing law protecting waters relatively well.

Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Andrej Vizjak meanwhile says the new legislation improves the existing situation.

He has recently explained that the existing legislation allows all types of buildings if a coastal or embankment area is narrowed, including private mansions.

This will no longer be possible, as only simple and public-use buildings could be build there, while every project will also have to be approved by the Water Agency.

This means decisions will be in the hands of experts rather then politics, Vizjak has argued in favour of the new legislation.

However, the government and the three coalition parties seem to be largely isolated in their promotion of the new rules for areas close to waters.

The referendum proponents - a broad coalition of environmental NGOs termed the Movement for Drinking Water - had opposed the bill while it still in its early stages.

They have since seen massive support by those with vested interest, such as water experts and engineers, but also organisations with practically no direct link to water management, such as WWII veterans.

The University of Ljubljana stressed the new law enabled construction even on water, and the Speleological Association said it enhanced risks of pollution.

"In Slovenia we are well aware of the role of water and the water sources which we manage. We are one of the two EU member states which have legislated the right to drinking water by writing it down in the constitution," the Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU) has said as it presented its view against the bill.

In a heated political atmosphere, some see the referendum as a vote on the government, while the two opposing sides have also accused each other of misleading voters.

The campaign wraps up at midnight after problems with early voting at several major polling stations in Maribor and Ljubljana as well as problems with registration for absentee voting, leading to accusations of voter suppression.

STA, 7 July 2021 - The National Assembly passed on Wednesday amendments to the communicable diseases act after the Constitutional Court declared parts of the act and by extension the measures introduced during the epidemic unconstitutional.

The amended act determines that expert assessments are required for some measures, and that certain indicators must be taken into account when restrictions are adopted. It also introduces curbs on the duration and location of the measures.

In case of restrictions that would strongly affect human rights and fundamental freedoms, there will be a special mechanism under which individual measures in place for more than 90 days can only be extended by the National Assembly.

This comes after the Constitutional Court declared parts of the communicable diseases act allowing the government to restrict movement and public assembly unconstitutional at the beginning of June, and annulled the government decrees that were based on this law.

It said the act was unconstitutional because it gave the government too much leeway in the ways, types, scope and duration of restrictions that strongly interfered with the freedom of movement.

The amendments were passed in a partisan 44:42 vote.

The coalition defended the legislation as necessary to have measures in place before the next wave of the coronavirus pandemic hits. It said the wording was in full compliance with the Constitutional Court decision.

Jožef Horvat of New Slovenia (NSi), dismissing complaints that more debate was needed, said on Tuesday the Constitutional Court had given the legislature a clear deadline to implement the changes.

The centre-left opposition on the other hand claimed that instead of addressing the Constitutional Court's concerns about encroachment on fundamental rights, the government had now merely given itself unfettered powers.

Dejan Židan of the Social Democrats (SD) wondered if Slovenians really wished to live in a country in which the government was allowed to declare a state of emergency for an indefinite time.

STA, 7 July 2021- The moves recently made by the prime minister both in the domestic political arena and the international stage are raising questions about what the prime minister wants to achieve in the first place, Primorske Novice says in Wednesday's commentary.

"There are questions as to the benefits the people derive from European politicians being instructed about which Slovenian judge is meeting which political party at a picnic. Or from Europe seeing a film ostensibly showing media bias."

Not only are there no palpable benefits to the people, the prime minister himself and by extension the entire government have no benefits beyond gaping jaws in Europe realising that Slovenia is increasingly becoming similar to countries that we used to look down upon, according to the commentator.

"If the prime minister's intention is to achieve better - to eschew the word balanced - media, better judiciary, healthcare, education, better conditions for the people, fine. We support that.

"But if we are now to report only about government achievements, Mt. Triglav climbs and missed sunsets, if the judiciary were to turn a blind eye to weapons deals, questionable land sales and covert insults, and if hospitals were to treat only those who can afford that, the title of the booklet should be changed," the paper says in reference to a booklet sent to Slovenian households entitled We Stood up and Survived, which it says should in this case be changed to We Stood up and Survived. And Backslid.

STA, 6 July 2021 - MEPs from the majority of political groups in the European Parliament sent PM Janez Janša some stark messages about the rule of law after he presented Slovenia's EU presidency priorities in the Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday. His European People's Party (EPP) too urged him to promptly appoint European delegated prosecutors.

Apart from the European delegated prosecutors, most of the criticism centred on media freedom and independent judiciary, while a lack of ambition in fighting climate change was also singled out.

Janša welcomed all the views heard in the debate following his presentation of the Slovenian presidency priorities as legitimate.

While the EPP was rather reserved before Janša's appearance in Parliament, EPP head Manfred Weber urged Janša today to immediately appoint the two prosecutors.

Weber said the rule of law was a self-evident political principle, stressing problems with it in one member state were problems of the entire EU.

He also highlighted the controversy about media freedom and the judiciary in Slovenia.

Calls to appoint the delegated prosecutors and respect media freedom also came from the Social Democrats, Liberals, the Greens and the Left, who also highlighted an incident at the start of the Slovenian presidency when European commissioners visited Slovenia.

On 1 July, European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans (S&D) refused to take part in a photo-op due to Janša's comments about links between Slovenian judges and the Slovenian Social Democrats (SD).

Stressing the rule of law was a pillar of democracy, S&D head Iratxe Garcia said this attack on the opposition MPs was unacceptable.

Malik Azmani from the liberal Renew called on Janša to appoint the delegated prosecutors and to stop harassing journalists and judges or appointing his friends to various offices.

The head of the Parliament's democracy monitoring group, Sophie in 't Veld, meanwhile announced a fact-finding mission to Slovenia for October.

The Dutch MEP from Renew argued that leaders of EU member states allowed the deep crisis of the rule of law to undermine EU values.

She expressed concern about attacks on journalists and highlighted the unacceptable interference with the appointment of the delegated prosecutors.

Janša, addressing the press after the debate, said he had never seen any obstacle to anyone coming to Slovenia to see the situation for themselves.

Stressing he was happy the group would visit in the autumn, he said "I hope they talk to different people, not just those who are presenting a one-sided picture."

As for media freedom, he said he had led the Slovenian government three times, and every time Slovenia had gained in the media freedom index.

He advised foreign journalists who do not speak Slovenian to come to Slovenia for a week with an interpreter so that they do not depend on what they are told.

"Don't judge by what somebody has told you," he added, but did not say whether he will attend another session of the democracy monitoring group scheduled for 15 July.

Ska Keller, the co-chair of the European Greens, said intimidating free media and the civil society was not what the Slovenian EU presidency was expected to do.

She also warned against a lack of ambition in fighting climate change.

In collaboration with Slovenian activists Jaša Jenull and Tea Jarc, the Greens staged a minor protest in front of the Parliament this morning, urging the EU to use all means available for the situation in Slovenia not to deteriorate.

The Left stressed Slovenians had the right to free media and efficient judiciary. In the media centre, reporters could see their parody of a Ljubljana postcard with Janša's message that the Slovenian presidency will actively contribute to a more xenophobic and regressive Europe.

The Eurosceptic grouping of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) meanwhile welcomed Janša's address.

Its Raffaelle Fitto said the group was at ease with his approach to European values while he rejected criticism about the European delegated prosecutors.

Similarly, the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) wished the Slovenian presidency good luck, while pointing to the role of respecting different nations.

In responding to the MEPs' views, Janša was conciliatory. He said Slovenia was not pulling out of the project of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, arguing the non-appointment of prosecutors was a result of problems related to the Slovenian law. He is confident the appointment could go through by the autumn.

Janša said today's debate was important even if they did not share all the views. "Europe is all this what you have presented," he said. He said that for him, all the views expressed were legitimate as he wanted all voices to be heard.

STA, 6 July - PM Janez Janša said as he addressed the European Parliament on Tuesday he believed the time had come for the EU to start acting more strategically, including in the Western Balkans. Presenting the Slovenian EU presidency's priorities, he said the first short-term priority was to do everything to prevent the fourth wave of the pandemic. 

As everybody is wondering what lies ahead in the autumn, Janša considers it key to convince people to get vaccinated. "Every citizen should do everything to stop the pandemic," he said, adding that ad hoc solutions should be replaced by sustainable structural measures.

He moreover highlighted resilience and recovery, the EU's strategic autonomy, a Union of European way of life, the rule of law and equal standards for all and the right to freedom of speech as he presented the presidency's priorities. He pointed to a credible and safe EU also able to ensure security and stability in its neighbourhood.

Janša urged everyone to present their views on the European future as part of Slovenia's next priority - the Conference on the Future of Europe.

He is convinced that everyone should contribute to the debate even if their views are opposing, arguing that others should not teach Europeans about the European future.

Janša pointed to the respect for the rule of law saying equal standards should apply to all EU countries as a way of enhancing mutual trust.

It must be clear that in the end, it is an independent judicial body not a political body that takes the final decision, which makes the quality of judiciary particularly important, he said.

Janša also said a step forward should be made in the Western Balkans, arguing that if the EU was not active, somebody else with different interests would be.

The Slovenian presidency will also focus on the freedom and plurality of the media, Janša said. He announced that on the European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Totalitarian Regimes on 23 August, Slovenia would host an international conference.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meanwhile stressed the role of values and the rule of law in her address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

She said the July EU summit showed how central they were, adding that ways of defending the EU's values and financial interests would be debated at the plenary on Wednesday.

Noting Slovenia chaired the EU for the first time in 2008 as the first newcomer from the 2004 enlargement wave, von der Leyen recalled Janša's words from that time that Slovenia was willing to do everything for the EU to be preserved, developed and strengthened.

She said this was still a noble mission which also entailed preserving diversity, media freedom and the rule of law and developing tools for the EU to be better prepared for future challenges.

Von der Leyen pointed to the role of trust, including in free media and independent courts, which she believes is also important for taxpayers, who finance post-pandemic recovery. She thus again urged Slovenia's presidency to make efforts for a prompt conformation of national recovery and resilience plans.

Turning to the Europeans' wish to end the pandemic, she said it was key to ensure effective vaccination, pledging the Commission will work together with the presidency to that effect. She concluded by saying "long live Europe".

STA, 6 July 2021 - Slovenian voters who will be unable to go to the polls on Sunday, 11 July, to vote on the changes to the waters act can do so in early voting from Tuesday to Thursday between 7am and 7pm at over 92 polling stations around Slovenia.

Water Act Referendum on 11 July Aims to Protect Coastal Land

A voter can cast their vote in early voting only at the local electoral commission which covers the area of their permanent residence.

While the early voting will largely take place at the seats of district electoral commissions, there are around a dozen exceptions.

For all districts within the Ljubljana Administrative Unit, early voting will take place at the Gospodarsko Razstavišče fairgrounds.

Standard rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus will have to be observed, with voters having to enter polling stations one by one.

Until tomorrow, voters can apply to vote on 11 July outside their place of permanent residence or at home.

Voters with permanent residence abroad who would like to vote in Slovenia can also still apply tomorrow to do so.

The referendum was initiated by several NGOs associated in the Movement for Drinking Water, which is critical of the new rules for construction on sea and lake coasts and on riverbanks. It claims that the new legislation liberalises construction and might lead to over-development of coastal areas.

Voters - just over 1.7 million are eligible - will be asked whether they support amendments to the waters act passed by the National Assembly on 30 March.

STA, 5 July 2021 - The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a coalition of press freedom organisations and journalism groups, stressed on Monday that media freedom was at risk in Slovenia. Attacks on Slovenian media take place at multiple levels, both legislative and administrative, and on social networks, the group said.

Presenting its report released at the end of last month after a virtual fact-finding mission to Slovenia in late May and early June, representatives of MFRR partner organisations highlighted government attacks on the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) and public broadcaster RTV Slovenija today.

With the report noting that Slovenia has seen press freedom deteriorate ever since Prime Minister Janez Janša returned to power in March 2020, MFRR representatives said today that aggressive efforts were under way to take control over public media.

A mix of legal and administrative pressure is being used as well as attacks, often personal, aimed at undermining the integrity and independence of these institutions. "What is worrying is that this is happening during the pandemic, when objective reporting is crucial," said Jamie Wiseman from the International Press Institute (IPI).

Tim Schoot Uiterkamp from foundation Free Press Unlimited (FPU) said that during the mission in Slovenia representatives of the Slovenian government had mostly justified their actions by arguing that the media landscape needed to be balanced and that a network of fierce government opponents controlled the media.

Government officials also pointed to the problems that existed before this government. Schoot Uiterkamp said that problems from that period had been detected but that the current government had used those weaknesses and deepened them rather than trying to eliminate them.

MFRR representatives warned that the Slovenian government was copying the illiberal model of democracy from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and that the ruling Democrats (SDS) had set up a network of party media before taking office, and now they were discrediting media and journalists and trying to present the media landscape as a battle between the left and right activism to undermine trust in the media.

"We are concerned by the spreading of this model," said Schoot Uiterkamp, adding though that not everything was lost in Slovenia's case.

What is positive in Slovenia is that media and the civil society have recognised the threat and shown some solidarity. The stronger and the more independent the public media outlets are, the easier they can resist to such pressure, said Renate Schroeder, the head of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ).

Schoot Uiterkamp urged Slovenian journalists to remain alert, continue to show solidarity with their peers and continue to resist pressure, as this was what differentiates Slovenia from Hungary and Poland, where no such resistance could be felt.

He also called on European institutions to monitor the situation closely and respond to developments in Slovenia, and to adopt as soon as possible a directive against strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP).

He said Brussels should also launch a mechanism of withholding EU budget payments to countries where governments bend the rule of law.

Laurens Hueting from the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) assessed that at present there was no need to launch the procedure foreseen under Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union and expressed hope that this would never be necessary.

You can see the full report here (PDF)

STA, 5 July 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša will present Slovenia's EU presidency priorities to the European Parliament at a plenary session on Tuesday in a very different atmosphere than in 2008. Socialists, liberals, the greens, and the left have all announced they will be critical. Janša's political family is reserved.

The presentation of priorities of the country starting the six-month stint at the helm of the Council of the EU in Parliament is customary and is followed by a debate with MEPs.

Janša will address MEPs for the second time as prime minister of a presiding county. In 2008, when he presented Slovenia's first presidency priorities, MEPs were mostly interested in Kosovo, which was about to declare independence.

This year, the situation is much different. The first two days of Slovenia's presidency were marked by two incidents. Frans Timmermans, the European Commission vice-president from the ranks of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), eschewed a traditional photo-op at the takeover of the presidency due to Janša's comments about links between Slovenian judges and the Social Democrats (SD).

This was followed by a statement by Interior Minister Aleš Hojs at Friday's briefing for Brussels correspondents dedicated to the start of the Slovenian presidency being interpreted as taking aim at Timmermans with a pearls-swine metaphor. Hojs has denied the accusation.

This, along with the failure to appoint European delegated prosecutors and Janša's attitude to media and his support to Hungary in a debate on a controversial law that according to the European Commission discriminates people based on their sexual orientation, will set the mood for Tuesday's debate.

The biggest political group, the right-of-centre European People's Party (EPP), is reserved. Janša will take part in a meeting of the group on Tuesday evening, where he can expect questions about his support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the debate on the rights of the LGBTIQ community, as the EPP finds the controversial Hungarian law unacceptable.

Orban's Fidesz left the group and the EPP party a few months ago.

The EPP warns that politicising such issues in Hungary, Slovenia and Poland feeds populism in these countries. Unofficially, the group is concerned about the divide between the eastern and western EU countries, which the debate on the rights of the LGBTIQ community laid bare again.

The second and third biggest parliamentary groups, the S&D and the liberal Renew, announced they would be critical, especially due to Slovenia's failure to appoint delegated prosecutors to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), and Janša's attitude to media.

The Slovenian prime minister can also expect criticism from the European Greens, the fifth largest group, who announced protests in Strasbourg for Tuesday morning together with the organisers of Friday's anti-government protests in Slovenia, as well as from the Left (GUE/NGL), the smallest political group.

The Eurosceptic European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) said the Slovenian prime minister must be given a chance.

The far-right Identity and Democracy Group (ID) did not take part in Friday's briefing where groups presented their views ahead of Tuesday's debate.

The agenda of the plenary will include the rights of LGBTIQ persons in Hungary, the Article 7 procedure of the Treaty on the European Union against Poland and Hungary, and rule of law conditionality.

The plenary will also be attended by Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar, who will represent the Council of the EU in relations with the Parliament. He will take part in the debates on the rule of law and the fundamental rights in Hungary and Poland, the rights of the LGBTIQ community in Hungary, global EU sanctions related to human rights violations, the situation in Ethiopia, Antarctica and the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions.