STA, 25 June 2021 - The prime ministers of Austria, Croatia and Hungary, the foreign minister of Italy, and the president of the European Council congratulated Slovenia on the 30th anniversary of its independence and wished it a successful stint at the helm of the EU as they addressed the Statehood Day celebration on Friday.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Slovenia was an important neighbour and economic partner of Austria's that cannot be imagined not being part of the European space.

He said Austria was looking forward to Slovenia's EU presidency and thanked Prime Minister Janez Janša for making Western Balkans among the focal points of the presidency.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković wished Slovenia all the best in presiding the EU, pleased that he could count on the know-how, creativity, patriotism and European character of the country.

Wishing that it makes a substantive contribution to the future of Europe, he said Slovenia could "always rely on Croatia as a friend and partner".

Sem na strani domoljubne, ponosne, optimistične in v prihodnost usmerjene Slovenije.#30let ??????
Foto: Srdjan Živulović, MMC pic.twitter.com/2i0Wys9aJ6

— Matej Tonin (@MatejTonin) June 26, 2021

? LIVE now: Follow my speech at the ceremony for the 30th anniversary of Slovenian statehood #30let and the upcoming Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU @EU2021SI https://t.co/M2hAtWlkie

— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) June 25, 2021

#Slovenia30 | ?? FM Augusto Santos Silva gifted an astrolabe to PM @JJansaSDS:

"Many challenges await you in the next semester. So may the Portuguese astrolabe be of help to you, guiding Slovenia on its path to the Presidency. We wish you a good presidency." pic.twitter.com/h6svstlZ6e

— EU2021SI (@EU2021SI) June 25, 2021

Ich danke @JJansaSDS für die Einladung heute nach Ljubljana zu den Feierlichkeiten zu 30 Jahren Unabhängigkeit #Sloweniens! Das war ein bewegender Moment für mich. Von der ersten Stunde an haben wir die Unabhängigkeitsbestrebungen von Slowenien unterstützt. pic.twitter.com/dtDea3JWxS

— Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) June 25, 2021

?? i ?? učvršćuju prijateljske i dobrosusjedske odnose te partnersku suradnju u ?? i NATO-u. Svim Slovenkama i Slovencima čestitam Dan državnosti i želim uspješno predsjedanje ??! Vsem Slovenkam in Slovencem iz srca čestitam Dan državnosti in to pomembno obletnico! pic.twitter.com/IIBywv6vNM

— Andrej Plenković (@AndrejPlenkovic) June 25, 2021

Things that separate the two countries are insignificant compared to what they have in common, he said, noting that Slovenia and Croatia understood best what went on in this region thirty years ago.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban likewise emphasised the close ties between the two countries. "Hungarians see you as friends and Christian brothers. Hungarians are happy to be your neighbours," he said.

Orban said that the stronger, wealthier and happier Slovenia is, the better this is for Hungary.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio said Slovenia and Italy had very friendly relations, "in particular because we share the same values, which stem from and converge into our common membership of the EU and NATO."

Di Maio expressed Italy's support for Slovenia's presidency, noting that its second stint at the helm of the EU represented a new era on the path of liberty and democracy that Slovenia entered thirty years ago.

"we have strong confidence in Slovenia's ability to lead the EU in this sensitive time."

European Council President Charles Michel said he was proud and moved to be able to stand next to the Slovenian and EU flag and say happy birthday Slovenia and usher in the Slovenian presidency.

He said the European project was based on the values of democracy, freedom and rule of law, noting that diversity, tolerance and respect were Europe's powers

STA, 25 June 2021 - Congratulations to Slovenia are pouring in on Friday as the country is marking Statehood Day and the 30th anniversary of its independence. Congratulations to President Borut Pahor were sent today by the leaders of Italy, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Japan, Belgium and Switzerland, the president's office said.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella congratulated Pahor and the friendly Slovenian nation personally and on behalf of Italy. He wrote that the countries were enriched by frequent visits at the level of civil society and both ethnic minorities.

Mattarella expressed the conviction that the path set by him and Pahor with visits in Trieste and Basovizza last July has opened new perspectives, and wished Slovenia a successful presidency of the EU Council in the second half of the year.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen also wished Slovenia a successful presidency in his congratulation message, while noting that the development of good bilateral relations in the last 30 years had contributed to well-being and better understanding between the countries' citizens.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote that 25 June 1991, when the first democratically elected Slovenian parliament declared the country's independence also meant a new beginning in relations between Slovenia and Germany.

Today, cooperation of our countries in economy, politics and culture is closer than ever, and the challenges of the present time are being tackled together and with solidarity, the president's office quoted the German president.

Slovak President Zuzana Čaputova said in her congratulation message that the friendly relations between Slovakia and Slovenia were based on common values and the partnership in the EU and NATO, and that she believed that this would be built on in the future.

Czech President Miloš Zeman meanwhile expressed satisfaction with the relations between the Czech Republic and Slovenia developing well both bilaterally and multi-laterally.

Pahor has also received congratulations from other leaders. Last week congratulations came from US President Joe Biden, while also to congratulate Slovenia are Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Belgian King Philippe, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, Spanish King Felipe VI, Irish President Michael D. Higgins, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, Swiss President Guy Parmelin, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti and others.

?? ?? Happy Statehood Day, Slovenia! Vesel dan državnosti!

Slovenia was one of 10 countries that joined the European Union in 2004, the EU's biggest enlargement.

Today we celebrate with @EKvSloveniji. #StrongerTogether #Slovenija30

— European Commission ?? (@EU_Commission) June 25, 2021

Christ the Redeemer statue in ?? Rio de Janeiro lit up with ?? flag. #Slovenia30 pic.twitter.com/RRfSekBGB7

— Slovenian Government (@govSlovenia) June 24, 2021

Congratulations to Slovenia have also been published on social networks by the European Parliament, EU Council and European Commission.

In some countries, landmarks were lit up in the colours of the Slovenian flag, including the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro and a fountain in Athens, as seen in Twitter posts by the Slovenian embassies in Brazil and Greece.

STA, 25 June 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša said in his message on Statehood Day that, 30 years ago, Slovenians had won themselves the liberty of deciding on their fate on their own. "We are still the same nation, which can again be strong, determined and brave, when need be," he added.

"When we we paving the way of independence, we knew that it would not be easy. But we were being driven by the genuine wish, which gave us courage and belief that everything that we do is right and good," Janša said on Friday.

The prime minister noted that Slovenians had wanted to live in a free and democratic state, where the values of freedom, justice, solidarity and fairness will go hand in hand with economic success and well-being.

"In a state that would be the mother homeland for all," Janša said, adding that in the 30 years of independence, Slovenia had come a long way, while many opportunities had also been missed and some values forgotten.

Gradimo Slovenijo. Naš pogled je uprt v naslednjih 30 let. #Gradimo ?? #Zate https://t.co/DfCbQFsyz3

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) June 20, 2021

The challenges of the present time are demanding, but "if we build on our future on respecting one another, accepting our differences and importance of dialogue with those who think differently" Slovenians have nothing to be afraid of.

According to Janša, the fight for freedom and independent Slovenia was won by fighting for democracy first, which was in turn won by means of a fight for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

"Thirty years ago we achieved these objectives proudly and with enthusiasm," he said, noting that since then, Slovenia as a sovereign country had joined the EU and NATO and the global international community.

"Together with others we work for our welfare and for peace among nations. So that all nations can live freely," said Janša, who believes that nothing of this had happened over night, without sacrifice and effort.

The prime minister also looked back at the past year, saying that "we have been going through it with a great deal of patience, sacrifice and willpower. After one year, it is understandable that we are running out of will."

Slovenia is close to the wave of discontent and pessimism to go over the brink and "creating tension, spreading hatred and intolerance, calls for exclusion or even death ... in such difficult times is very irresponsible and dangerous."

Interior Minister Aleš Hojs also issued a statement on Statehood Day, noting that the police had played one of the instrumental roles on Slovenia's path to independence 30 years ago.

"At the time, the police performed its mission excellently and they have kept this first stance until today," the minister added.

STA, 24 June 2021 - The centre-left opposition called for Slovenia's top officials to protest against Hungary's controversial new anti-LGBTQ law, voicing disappointment over Slovenia's failure to join the 16 EU countries that expressed their concern over the law in a joint statement.

The Social Democrats (SD) voiced their expectation in a press release that Slovenia's top officials will express a "diplomatic protest" over violation of LGBTQ rights in Hungary as Prime Minister Viktor Orban visits Slovenia for the independence ceremony anniversary on Friday.

The party said the Hungarian parliament's decision to ban debate on homosexuality in the education process marked a fast march toward a society where there would be no freedom, equality or respect for diversity. The party illuminated its headquarters in Ljubljana in rainbow colours yesterday as a sign of solidarity with the LGBTQ community.

The Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) is disappointed because Slovenia failed to sign on to the joint statement of 16 EU countries expressing concern over the contentious law and developments in Hungary "where the Viktor Orban regime sided with violation of basic human rights and tramples principles of equality".

"This is yet another piece of evidence showing our current government and Prime Minister Janez Janša in particular have been coquetting and cooperating with the Orban regime and even copying his conduct - in the field of media, judiciary and human rights as well as all other basic democratic standards".

Europe's #LGBT divide.

With Italy's late signature, these are the 14 EU countries that signed today's statement condemning Hungary's new law banning 'displaying or promoting" homosexuality to people under 18.

Portugal didn't sign because it currently holds the EU presidency. pic.twitter.com/OtttcMUsz7

— Dave Keating (@DaveKeating) June 22, 2021

Calling the actions unacceptable, the party endorsed the position of the 16 EU countries in a press release, adding that in Slovenia most of the people were committed to human rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Slovenian constitution.

Foreign Ministry State Secretary Gašper Dovžan said Slovenia did not join in the statement by the 16 EU countries because as the next country presiding the Council of the EU it would enter the role of a neutral negotiator "whose goal is to seek a balance between various views of EU member countries and look to near their views on common topics under discussion".

As a sign of protest against the Hungarian LGBTQ law, the city council of Munich called for the city's arena to be illuminated in rainbow colours for Wednesday's Euro 2020 match between Germany and Hungary, a move that was blocked by UEFA, Europe's football governing body, which is headed by Slovenia's Aleksander Čeferin.

The opposition Left criticised the UEFA leadership over the decision. In a press release on Wednesday the party called the decision regrettable, although not surprising "considering the football establishment is also invoking 'non-political' context when it imposes fines for Palestinian flags, pro-Catalan slogans [...]".

"Football is a political matter per se and at the same time a space that masses fill not only with their bodies but also with their persuasions," the party said.

STA, 23 June 2021 - The celebrations of the 30 years of Slovenia's sovereignty and independence will culminate with the main national ceremony on Statehood Day on Friday, 25 June, in memory of the day in 1991 when the Slovenian parliament passed several key documents for the country to leave the former Yugoslavia and become fully independent.

The high-profile ceremony will be held on Friday evening in Republic Square in Ljubljana, the same spot where the country's independence was ceremoniously declared on 26 June 1991.

The 9pm ceremony will also be an occasion to celebrate the start of Slovenia's EU presidency due on 1 July, so several senior foreign officials are expected to attend it.

Details of the ceremony have not yet been revealed, not even the main speaker, who is usually one of the senior-most politicians.

However, Statehood Day ceremonies are usually introduced with a firing cannon salute from Ljubljana Castle followed by a cultural programme and the main speech.

The Government Communication Office (UKOM) said this year Slovenia will be celebrated with songs, dances and recitals.

Despite coronavirus restrictions, a number of Slovenian and foreign politicians will attend the ceremony, but the list of foreign guests is still being finalised.

Representatives of all veteran organisations have also been invited. Independence War veterans confirmed their attendance and so has the head of the WWII veteran organisation, Marijan Križman.

Opposition leaders will meanwhile be largely absent. Marjan Šarec (LMŠ) and Luka Mesec (Left) will not attend, Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) new leader Ljubo Jasnič has not received the invitation and the SNS's Zmago Jelinčič will address a smaller Statehood Day event in Radenci.

Mesec will meanwhile go to an alternative 7pm event in Prešeren Square, which will be organised by groups attending Friday evening anti-government protests.

Before the state ceremony, the upper and lower chambers of parliament will meet for their festive sessions and an exhibition on Slovenia's 30 years by photographer Srdjan Živulović will open at the Parliament House.

The Slovenian Armed Forces guard of honour will be lined up at the entrance to Presidential Palace, which will be open to members of the public, who will be addressed by President Borut Pahor.

Following a democratisation drive in Slovenia and a deteriorating economic and national situation in the multi-ethnic Yugoslavia in the 1980s, the Slovenian assembly passed the key documents governing Slovenia's independence on 25 June 1991: the Basic Charter on Sovereignty and Independence, the constitutional law on to implement the charter, and the Declaration on Independence.

As the new legislation was passed, the then president of the assembly, France Bučar, said: "Long live sovereign and independent Slovenia!", to which the delegates, or MPs, stood up and applauded.

The Basic Charter says Slovenia is a sovereign and independent nation which assumes all rights and duties that were transferred onto the former Yugoslavia.

The Declaration on Independence set down a future course for the newly independent state - kind of a country Slovenia wants to be, with which institutions it intends to integrate or what relations it wants to have with former Yugoslav republics.

Independence was declared at a public event in Republic Square on 26 June 1991, when the flag of the Republic of Slovenia replaced the flag of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia in front of the parliament.

However, the festivities were short-lived as Yugoslav army tanks headed from barracks in Slovenia and Croatia to Slovenia's borders with Italy, Austria and Hungary, triggering a ten-day war of independence.

Following a ceasefire based on the 7 July 1991 Brijuni Declaration, brokered by the EU's predecessor, and a subsequent three-month independence process moratorium Slovenia had to agree to, the last Yugoslav soldiers left Slovenia in October of the same year as the Yugoslav authorities realised Slovenia could no longer be persuaded to stay in Yugoslavia.

STA, 23 June - CIVICUS, an international alliance of NGOs, on Wednesday placed Slovenia on its list of countries to be monitored for a decline in fundamental civil liberties. Under Janez Janša's government, civil society organisations have been undermined by funding cuts and journalists and the national press agency have been targeted, they wrote.

This comes as Monitor CIVICUS, an online platform that monitors civil liberties in 196 countries, released its updated human rights watchlist on Wednesday.

The CIVICUS Monitor Watch List draws attention to countries where there is a serious and rapid decline in respect for civic space. The list now includes Slovenia, Colombia, Ethiopia, Chad and Myanmar.

As CIVICUS pointed out, since assuming power, Janez Janša's government has been "using the Covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to pass several measures that affect basic human rights, the rule of law and the right to participation".

They said that civil society organisations faced funding cuts and smear campaigns, and the government had justified its decisions by claiming that the money will be redirected to contain the pandemic.

"In addition, the right to peaceful assembly has been disproportionately limited during the pandemic. Since the government came into power, weekly cycling protests have been held. However, police have issued fines to protesters summing up to EUR 10,000," they wrote.

"The prime minister has adopted the style of former US President Donald Trump on Twitter, constantly attacking and discrediting independent journalists, calling them 'liars' and calling women journalists 'presstitutes'," CIVICUS added.

It notes that the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) has been facing political and economic pressures as well. The government stopped funding the agency, despite an EU warning against such attempts to put pressure on public media outlets.

"At the same time, pressure is being exerted on the STA's management in an attempt to destroy the agency," CIVICUS said, also calling on the Slovenian government to stop attacking NGOs and to reverse the decisions it took to restrict their funding.

"The CIVICUS Monitor downgraded Slovenia's civic space rating in December 2020 to NARROWED, which is already a warning sign. We therefore call on European institutions to pay attention to the rapid shrinking of civic space in Slovenia, which has been in a spiral of continuous deterioration under the government of Janez Janša," said Aarti Narsee, European Civic Space Researcher for CIVICUS.

Based on constant analyses of multiple streams of data on civic space, CIVICUS assigns each country a rating as follows: open, narrowed, obstructed, repressed or closed.

Slovenia is currently rated NARROWED by the CIVICUS Monitor as one of the 40 countries in the world with this rating.

This rating is typically given to countries where democratic freedoms, such as the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association, are increasingly being violated.

You can see more on the report here

STA, 21 June 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša described arguments about political unity over Slovenia's independence 30 years ago as a "bad myth" in an interview with the public broadcaster on Monday, but acknowledged the people's unity as the key factor to the step.

In the interview ahead of the 30th anniversary of independence, Janša said those were "much more fateful, unrepeatable times" compared with today, but there was no difference when it came to the quality of political dialogue.

"Daily political battle may be fierce, but when national interests and key issues are at stake as independence was then or the combat against the epidemic is now, it would be in order to stand more united," said Janša, who served as defence minister 30 years ago.

Listing Slovenia's key achievements over the past 30 years, he noted Slovenia's being recognised as the world's 5th safest country, as well as becoming part of the EU, NATO, Schengen etc. "We're living in an exceptionally favourable environment historically," he said.

Janša: EU Should Do More to Face Threat from China in Wide-Ranging Interview, in English, on Indian TV (Full Video)

Asked about the national recovery and resilience plan, Janša said the funds from the recovery fund would provide a big stimulus but Slovenia would need to create the bulk itself.

It is important "what and where we invest in", he said, holding out high hopes for the Digitalisation Council. If its plan of measures is realised, "Slovenia will be digital and much ahead of some other countries," said the prime minister.

The measure of success of Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the EU would be to "move what can be moved", noting absence of consensus over enlargement to the Western Balkans.

"If the EU does not expand, someone else will," he repeated, pointing to the influence of Russia and China in the region.

"The EU must decide whether to pursue the strategic goal it has set for itself or else this will be an unfinished project where there will be an elite club of countries and a periphery where various factors will be in conflict. I'm not for such a scenario."

Janša appealed to people again to get vaccinated against Covid-19, saying the proportion of the population's immunisation through vaccination in Slovenia and elsewhere would have to be raised to have a semblance of normality and in-class school in the autumn.

He does not think vaccination communication was a problem. "The problem is, though, that the epidemic was exploited to try to bring down the government, which was the main reason that some measures were not accepted in a united fashion."

Asked about obstacles in the appointment of Slovenia's European delegated prosecutors, Janša said it was a topic that only got publicity in Slovenia.

Asked about unlawful suspension of financing of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Janša challenged his TV Slovenija host: "Do you have a court judgement saying the government is violating laws?".

He said the government "secured funds in line with a law that was passed against our will. For the funds to be paid out, a contract will have to be signed and invoices sent."

He said STA director Bojan Veselinovič was a political appointee, accusing him of not wanting to sign a contract with the Government Communication Office and making a political scandal out of it, something that he said "all of you are helping him with".

STA, 20 June 2021 - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša has told an Indian news channel that the EU has not done enough to limit the growing threat from China. He believes the EU has put its economic interests before its values.

In an interview the Wion news channel posted online on Saturday, Janša welcomed the conclusions on China adopted at the recent G7 summit and the recent NATO summit in Brussels, saying that "the freedom loving countries have started taking China seriously for the first time in all of its dimensions".

As for French President Emmanuel Macron's statement that China is no threat to the EU because the two do not share the border, Janša said "the world is globalised today and China is very present in Europe, it is also strongly present in our neighbourhood, in Africa, and in the Mediterranean".

China is a global power, a bigger challenge than Russia or some other countries, he said, adding that the EU, the US, India and some other countries must cooperate in their approaches to China.

Asked whether as the EU presiding country in the second half of 2021 Slovenia will make an effort for clarity in EU policy on China, Janša said he did not oppose doing business with China, but "I'm against crossing the lines", which are now being determined in the EU.

He also said that in the changing world order, India has an increasingly important role.

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 18 June 2021. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Government Undignified

STA, 18 June - Mladina says in its latest editorial that the appointment of the new Justice Minister represents another example of the undignified and indecent practices of the current government, which have become a constant feature.

"This is definitely not the first time that a candidate for a ministerial post was revealed to be unsuitable, but until now, prime ministers have usually acknowledged that a new minister really can't come into office with that kind of baggage", the left-leaning weekly says under the headline So Undignified.

Referring to the newly appointed Justice Minister Marjan Dikaučič, Mladina says that "the candidate's past suggests that he should not be appointed to an important public office," as some media reported on his alleged involvement in suspicious insolvency proceedings and tax evasion through shell companies.

Mladina adds that "this last example is just one of many indecencies; they have become a permanent feature of this government, which is why it is so insensitive to this behaviour, and why the citizens have become slightly numb too."

"But this is a typical feature of the cronyism we are witnessing, so characteristic of contemporary Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Cronies, friends and colleagues hold power, working within and around political parties, which are actually just a cover for business, profits and the spilling over of money and power into private hands."

Mladina says the current coalition was formed on the basis of the same indecency, shown by certain political parties that distinctly claimed they would not support this type of regime before the last election.

The weekly adds that MPs are perfectly aware of what they are doing by enabling and supporting the current government, and that the voters know that as well.

"Slovenians have experienced the ugly side of socialism and these types of authority figures, who are frustrated by nothing more than decency, politeness, consistency and pride."

"That's how it is today, and that is why they are behaving that way, starting with the prime minister. They are arrogant and aggressive, because they cannot pull us into their world," concludes the commentary.

Demokracija: One-sided "quasi-liberal" morality

STA, 17 June 2021 - The right-wing weekly Demokracija says in its latest editorial that there is but a few of moral authorities left whom one could trust as traditional values are being undermined and destroyed. Any deviation from quasi-liberal norms is considered a totalitarian move, says the weekly on Thursday.

"Nowadays, everything is upside down. An invasion of progressivism has caused moral disintegration and views by individuals, whom activist media with an agenda describe as esteemed and nearly infallible, fit perfectly a quasi-liberal perspective of the world.

"Literally every departure from this linear party line is labelled a departure towards totalitarianism. What follows is intimidation and media mob attacks," writes editor-in-chief Jože Biščak.

He decries Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović's memorandum on the situation of Slovenian media, regretful that he participated in talks that served as the basis for the report as he thinks the document is biased and has left out the side of the story presented by him and his conservative peers.

In the world of this quasi-liberalism, "two plus two is never (again) four, but an arbitrary result that fits their views", says the commentary under the headline What is Actually 2 + 2?

Biščak also comments on a recent statement by four oversight institutions calling for respect for independent state bodies, saying that these four institutions "have become a smelly swamp precisely because of the people that lead them".

The signatories of the statement "belong among viruses that under the cover of appeals for respect for democratic rules spread a pandemic of a new ideologically-motivated morality that is against the current centre-right government and paves the way for [Court of Audit president Tomaž] Vesel into politics".

All our posts in this series are here

STA, 20 June 2021 - The Slovenian Press Agency (STA) will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a ceremony in front of its headquarters in Ljubljana on Sunday to mark the day 30 years ago when it published its first news article.

The STA was entered in the national register of companies on 3 June 1991, and started operating on 20 June 1991, a few days ahead of the official declaration of Slovenia's independence.

On this day 30 years ago, the national news agency published its first news article in Slovenian and English in a bid to form a channel of communication with the domestic and foreign public.

Since its humble and difficult beginnings during the Slovenian war of independence, the STA has developed into a modern media service that provides text articles, audio clips, photographs, livestreams and several other types of content.

Employing more than 80 journalists, photographers and other staff, the STA publishes more than 350 news items in Slovenian and English daily.

In the 30 years of its existence, the agency has published more than 2.5 million news items and other pieces of text content in Slovenia and more than 270,000 in English, around a million photographs and more than 130,000 audio recordings.

The anniversary comes at a difficult time as the agency has not been paid by the government for the public service it provides for more than 170 days and is on the verge of insolvency.

Jumping in to help was the Slovenian Journalist Association (DNS), which launched a donation campaign in May as part of which more than a quarter million euro has been raised for the agency.

The association has also proposed that President Borut Pahor decorate the STA on the anniversary, which the president responding affirmatively. The agency will thus receive the Order of Merit at Presidential Palace on Wednesday.