Politics

03 May 2021, 11:06 AM

STA, 3 May 2021 - World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on Monday, will be dedicated to the situation at the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) as a fundraising campaign in support of the STA officially kicks off.

The campaign comes after the government suspended financing of the agency. It has been organised by the Association of Slovenian Journalists and the Trade Union of Journalists.

"We are worried about this whole attack on public service that is currently the most evident in the case of the STA, because we can expect RTV Slovenija to be probably next, at least in the sense of control and government attempts at supervising it," says Petra Lesjak Tušek, the head of the association.

Media are always very intertwined with social developments. Being the key institutions of public communication, they are also linked to political life, according to the head of the journalism department at the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences, Jernej Amon Prodnik.

"The battle for the freedom of speech and communication rights has been long and history teaches us that no fight is ever won for good," he said.

But he thinks "we have to be careful and go beyond the narrow understanding of press freedom which is defined simply as the rights of the media owner to do what ever they want with their property".

Journalists are not subjected only to political pressure. Owners often see media as a tool for achieving their own political and economic interests. "We will have to seriously think about how to preserve journalism as a critical and supervisory institution in our society."

Autocratic aspirations, which can be seen in Slovenia and internationally recently, thus have an expectedly negative impact on the media, Amon Prodnik said.

"An authoritative mind does not acknowledge the right to existence to institutions that do not take orders. In this mindset journalists must be obedient servants or they should be discredited, stopped, destroyed."

Amon Prodnik thinks the Covid-19 pandemic has been all too often used as an excuse for curtailing civil liberties and rights in all fields not just in the media.

A recently published annual report by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shows that many governments around the globe have used the pandemic to increase repression, and journalism has been blocked in more than 130 countries.

However, journalists have been playing an important part during the epidemic, providing fast, efficient and high-quality information, Lesjak Tušek said. The work has been challenging, and entailed a lot of adjusting and flexibility, she added.

"I think trust in traditional media has increased for a reason, which some trust surveys show. Before it seemed that social networks are gaining ground, undermining the classic media, now it has transpired that media still have substantial power and are extremely important, because credible information needs to be separated from a lot of fake news."

The RSF report also pointed to the "dangerous path for press freedom" in Slovenia, which lost four spots to rank 36th among 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

Meanwhile, the Association of Journalists and Commentators (ZNP) believes that Slovenian media landscape has seen little change in recent years. There seems to be media pluralism in Slovenia, which allows for different media to be set up, but in fact the media that favour the left political bloc are dominant, the ZNP said.

According to the association, the left-leaning media outlets are very critical of the right-leaning politicians while they are ready to overlook many things when it comes to left-leaning politicians.

"We believe the government, which does not even have influence on any major media outlets, is not the one who is undermining democracy in this country, it is the fragmented, twisted picture that the mainstream media are communicating to the public," the ZNP said.

02 May 2021, 15:19 PM

STA, 2 May 2021 - Three Muslim graves at a cemetery in Domžale, 15 km north of Ljubljana, were desecrated on Saturday. An unknown perpetrator poured red fluid over the graves and put pieces of meat on them, media have reported. Police are investigating the incident, which has already been condemned by the Islamic community in Slovenia.

The Ljubljana police station told the media it had been informed of the incident at around 9am. After inspecting the scene, police are now collecting information related to the crime of public inciting of hatred, violence or intolerance.

The prosecution will be informed once the circumstances of the act are clarified.

The Islamic community in Slovenia was informed of the desecration by the families whose graves were affected. They said pieces of pork, which is forbidden for Muslims, had been placed on the graves.

The community condemned the desecration, saying it was an act of public inciting to hatred, violence and intolerance. It expects police to find the perpetrators and process them in line with the law.

01 May 2021, 12:37 PM

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 30 April 2021.

Mladina: Record and remember govt's wrongdoings

STA, 30 April 2021 - Mladina says in its latest commentary that the duty of the public and political parties is to encourage civil servants not to leave their posts and to instead watch and remember what the current government is doing so that the wrongdoings could be prosecuted once it inevitably steps down from power.

The left-leaning weekly quotes criminologist Dragan Petrovec, who said at Tuesday's anti-government rally that there was a "series of institutions where employees do not dare resist bullying, insults and abuse by their superiors."

Under the headline Secret Allies of the Public, it adds that Petrovec noted that capable people were leaving their jobs, while it would be better if they fought back and stayed at their posts.

Mladina adds that "people should start preparing for the moment when this government, which does not have public support and cannot win it back, tumbles down from power. Perhaps this will take one full year - but Slovenia must prepare for that moment already today."

The weekly argues that people need to prepare for the "cleansing from what has happened in the past year and what will happen in the coming months - the complete abuse of power."

It notes that in the coming few months, the government of Janez Janša is planning a number of "encroachments upon the state", including with the establishment of a tourism holding, adding that this is "nasty abuse and systemic corruption."

For this reason, it is important for individuals and social groups, including the police and prosecution, to start systemically collecting evidence about all of this. "Let them stay in drawers for now ... but let them be collected."

Mladina says that the public and political parties that understand how important this is and that themselves introduced stricter ethical standards should look up to Iceland as a good example.

"It is up to political parties that want public support in the next election to commit today ... that they will find the way for the information about wrongdoings could see the light of the day safely," concludes the commentary.

Reporter:  Schadenfreude for Čeferin in Slovenia

STA, 26 April 2021 - The right-wing weekly Reporter comments on the failed attempt by a dozen football clubs to establish their own Super League, saying the project found support in Slovenia because many could hardly hide their Schadenfreude for UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, a potential new player in Slovenian politics, thus a bogeyman for politicians on the right.

His being the head of a powerful international organisation makes him the most serious potential rival of Prime Minister Janez Janša if he decides to enter politics.

Čeferin's public objections and criticism of Janša have led many to believe that he is getting ready to return to Slovenia and become prime minister, the weekly says under the headline Schadenfreude.

When Super League clubs tried to sabotage Čeferin a week ago, it was bizarre to watch many Slovenian Twitter users siding with greedy rich men. Čeferin was being labelled a mafia lawyer, arrogant and even blamed for the clubs' attempt at defecting.

The attacks were the continuation of what started a few days earlier, when in an interview for the commercial broadcaster POP TV Čeferin criticised the fact that anti-government protesters are being punished in Slovenia.

"This is merely another battle in a war that started when Janša realised that Čeferin, being the head of a powerful international organisation, is in the perfect position to take over the top political position in the country."

However, the weekly doubts that this will indeed be the case. "Paradoxically, his victory against the Super League could delay Čeferin's return to Slovenia."

If the Super League were actually established, he might have returned earlier and still enjoyed great support for having fought billionaires' greed, Reporter says.

If he remains at the helm of UEFA until the end of term in March 2023 and then goes on to another high-profile job abroad, many politicians, not just Janša, will be relieved. "But a great number of undecided voters looking for a new saviour will be disappointed."

All our posts in this series are here

01 May 2021, 11:57 AM

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

If you’d like to keep up on the daily headlines then follow those here, or get all our stories in your feed on Facebook.

FRIDAY, 23 April
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly endorsed the government's proposal to raise the public spending ceiling until the end of 2024 in order to mitigate the negative impact of Covid-19. The spending cap for 2021 was raised from EUR 24.9 billion set in November to EUR 25.3 billion for a general government deficit of 8.6% of GDP.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly voted 46 to 42 to reject the government's proposal to merge eight major regulators into two mega agencies (for market and consumers and for financial markets) amid criticism the government wanted to subjugate oversight institutions.
        LJUBLJANA - The ban on travel between regions was lifted and cultural events for up to 10 people were permitted while public assembly was scaled back from a hundred to ten people.
        LJUBLJANA - EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson wrapped up a two-day visit by discussing the priorities of Slovenia's presidency of the EU in a meeting with Foreign Minister Anže Logar, including migration and the Schengen system.
        KOPER - President Borut Pahor and his Greek counterpart Katerina Sakellaropoulou unveiled a bench of friendship in a gesture celebrating ties between Slovenia and Greece in memory of Greek statesman Ioannis Kapodistrias (1776-1831), whose family originated from Koper.
        CELJE - The newspaper Večer reported that the wife of Prime Minister Janez Janša, Urška Bačovnik Janša, had received a death threat targeting her and the couple's children. The letter was sent to the hospital in Celje where she works as a doctor and has been handed over to police.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - The Strategic Council for Digitalisation met for its maiden session with Prime Minister Janez Janša saying the government expected it to put forward a plan of the country's digitalisation by 15 September.
        LJUBLJANA - Mercator, Slovenia's largest grocer, passed into majority ownership of Fortenova after the transfer of shares from the troubled Croatian group Agrokor was completed. Fortenova will now publish a takeover bid for the remaining 11.90% shares. Mercator saw its revenue rise by 1.6% to EUR 2.17 billion in 2020, but posted a net loss of EUR 156.7 million, largely due to revaluation of property and impairments to other assets.
        LJUBLJANA - The telco group Telekom Slovenije reported EUR 647.2 million in sales revenue for 2020, down 3% from 2019, and EUR 24.9 million in net profit. Excluding the negative impact of Covid-19, the net profit would have reached EUR 32.8 million.

SATURDAY, 24 April
        LJUBLJANA - Hospitality establishments reopened across the country to serve guests at outdoor tables, from 7am to 7pm, while in three regions with the lowest infection rates guests may also be served indoors if they produce a negative coronavirus status.
        LJUBLJANA - At the start of the week-long May Day school break, Health Minister Janez Poklukar appealed to the population to hold on and bear with coronavirus precautions a while longer, pointing to the Covid-19 vaccination rollout as a way back into normality.
        LJUBLJANA - The government formed a strategic council on social policy as an advisory group to the prime minister, appointing MEP Romana Tomc (SDS/EPP) to head the 15-member council, whose job will be to propose a reform of the social security system.

SUNDAY, 25 April
        LJUBLJANA - The news transpired that Ljerka Belak, a prolific theatre, film and TV actress, died at the age of 72, on 22 April. Excelling in comedy, Belak won the Borštnik Ring, the highest accolade for theatre acting, in 2015.
        LJUBLJANA - Speaker Igor Zorčič told TV Slovenija the National Assembly should be dissolved unless an agreement is reached to allow four unaffiliated MPs, including him, to participate in parliamentary working bodies.
        LIEGE, Belgium - Tadej Pogačar, a rider for UAE Team Emirates, won the Belgian one-day classic Liege-Bastogne-Liege in his sixth win this season and 23rd overall, as fellow Slovenian rider Primož Roglič failed to defend the title.
        LJUBLJANA - Data from the Financial Administration showed gross gaming revenue in Slovenia fell by 42% to EUR 188 million in 2020. Lotteries' revenue dropped by 10% to EUR 61.3 million and the revenue of casinos and gaming parlours was halved to EUR 127 million.

MONDAY, 26 April
        LJUBLJANA - In address to a joint meeting of parliamentary committees on foreign policy and EU affairs, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said the "phantom non-paper" on Western Balkans that some media attributed to Slovenia did not exist and discussion on that damaged Slovenia as well as Bosnia-Herzegovina.
        LJUBLJANA - Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde visited Slovenia for talks with her counterpart Anže Logar, which focused on cooperation in light of the upcoming Slovenian EU presidency and Sweden's current OSCE chairmanship. The pair also discussed relations with Russia and the situation in Ukraine. Linde also met President Borut Pahor.
        LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi addressed a letter to Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič expressing concern because Slovenia had not yet proposed its two candidates to join the European Public Prosecutor's Office, to become operational on 1 June.
        LJUBLJANA - Accommodation facilities across the country were allowed to reopen to accept guests with negative Covid status in up to 30 rooms. The Tourism and Hospitality Chamber urged the government to scale back what it described as "senseless" restrictions.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Sovereign Holding reported EUR 26 million in net profit for 2020 after posting a net loss of EUR 16.6 million in 2019. The return on equity, at 4.3%, was 1.6 percentage points below the target.
        LJUBLJANA - The STA supervisory board endorsed the annual report for 2020 which shows revenue rose by 1% to EUR 4.28 million despite the aggravated situation due to the Covid epidemic as net profit reached EUR 17,800.
        BOHINJ - Two lynxes, a male and a female from Romania, were released into the wild on Jelovica Plateau as part of efforts to reintroduce the species to north-western Slovenia after a successful rejuvenation of the lynx population in south Slovenia. Two days later, three more specimens were released into the Triglav National Park, as part of LIFE Lynx, an EU-funded project.
        
TUESDAY, 27 April
        LJUBLJANA - Some 10,000 people by police estimates gathered for an anti-government protest in defiance of the ban on gatherings. The rally was organised by the same leftist activist groups that had been staging weekly anti-government cycling protests since last spring and was timed to coincide with Resistance Day. Responding on Twitter, PM Janez Janša said the "massive transmission of the virus will lead to hundreds of seriously ill and dead in the coming weeks".
        RIBNICA/LJUBLJANA - Slovenia observed Resistance Day, remembering the day 80 years ago when the Liberation Front, an organisation that spearheaded armed resistance against the occupying forces in WWII, was established. The keynote speaker at the main ceremony, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, highlighted the role resistance had played throughout the nation's survival. President Borut Pahor urged Slovenians to respect each other, stressing that what brings the nation together outweighed what tears it apart with regard to recent history.
        LJUBLJANA - Checkpoints on Slovenia's border with Italy and Austria, introduced to help contain the coronavirus epidemic, were removed, while staying in place on Slovenia's other internal Schengen border, with Hungary.
        LJUBLJANA - Amendments to the foreigners act that tighten residence conditions for foreign citizens in Slovenia and introduce the concept of a complex migration emergency took effect. The concept means access to asylum could be restricted.
        LJUBLJANA - Under a decision published in the Official Gazette, Slovenia will open an embassy in South Korea and a consulate in Las Palmas, Spain. Slovenia currently has two consulates in South Korea, in Seoul and Daegu.

WEDNESDAY, 28 April
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - The government adopted the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which after being reviewed by the European Commission will serve as the basis to draw EU recovery funds. The plan proposes for Slovenia to use all EUR 1.8 billion in grants, and EUR 666 million out of the EUR 3.6 billion in available loans where 43.45% of the funds are allocated for green goals and 20.05% for digital goals. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the plan as a huge step forward from a previous version, while the opposition criticised it for lack in green investments.
        LJUBLJANA - The government adopted the Stability Programme, a document it needs to send to Brussels, providing for expansive fiscal policy due to continued fallout from Covid-19.
        LJUBLJANA - The police announced that a plan by a secondary school student that would have resulted in the first shooting rampage in the country had been foiled in cooperation with the US law enforcement authorities, who had seized firearms and ammunition bought by the suspect on the dark net.
        LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Janez Poklukar announced the stepping up of Slovenia's Covid-19 vaccination rollout, as some 120,000 doses of vaccines were expected in the country in coming days, or almost half a million in May. He expects vaccination could soon become available to everyone.
        STRASBOURG, France - The latest annual report by the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists raised concern about the Slovenian government's attempts at undermining independent media and stoking harassment of journalists.
        LJUBLJANA - The government gave its go-ahead for Brigadier General Miha Škerbinc, the force commander of the Slovenian Armed Forces, to be promoted to the rank of major general. He will be formally promoted by President Borut Pahor as the commander in chief.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - A memorial marking the 30th anniversary of a key meeting of the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia (DEMOS) which saw its members commit to realising the will expressed in the Slovenian independence referendum, was unveiled at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Janez Janša, and Lojze Peterle and Dimitrij Rupel, the prime minister and foreign minister in the DEMOS government.
        LJUBLJANA - The US Embassy donated two devices for disinfection of hospital premises to Slovenia, to be used in the UKC Maribor and UKC Ljubljana hospitals. The devices are a result of Slovenian know-how.
        LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Delo reported that Mirko Krašovec, the former treasurer of the Maribor Archdiocese who was acquitted in 2019 of the charge that he had instigated EU funds misuse over a decade ago, claims almost EUR 700,000 in damages from the state for time spent in prison.

THURSDAY, 29 April
        PARIS, France - Prime Minister Janez Janša met French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the countries' successive presidencies of the Council of the EU, which Macron said would be held in exceptional circumstances due to the Covid crisis. Janša said the countries shared views on most issues within the EU. Bilateral relations and regional issues were also on the agenda, especially in the Western Balkans and the EU's neighbourhood.
        LJUBLJANA - The European Commission announced it had approved, under EU state aid rules, EUR 2.5 million granted by Slovenia to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) in compensation to fulfil its public service mission. Vera Jourova, the Commission vice-president for values and transparency, urged for the funding for the STA to be "unlocked as soon as possible". Prime Minister Janez Janša said the decision referred to the funds that had already been paid out, which STA director Bojan Veselinovič described as a lie. The STA has been without state funding for its public service since the beginning of the year.
        LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office reported that Slovenia's survey unemployment rate stood at 4.8% in March, down 0.1 of a percentage point from February and up 0.3 of a point year-on-year.
        MARIBOR/NOVA GORICA - Brief balcony performances involving 25 cultural institutions were held in towns across the country to point to the dire situation in the culture sector due to coronavirus restrictions.

01 May 2021, 00:21 AM

STA, 30 April 2021 - After a massive anti-government protest in Slovenia's capital on Resistance Day, several hundred protesters hit the streets on their bicycles on Friday, stopping by at the headquarters of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) on their way to express support before lighting a bonfire in the square in front of the parliament building.

The protest, which is being held in defiance of the ban on gatherings of more than ten people, has been unfolding peacefully with most protesters wearing face masks.

Stopping by the STA headquarters, the protesters were addressed by Jaša Jenull, one of the protest movement leaders, who said the government was trying to silence press freedom, describing the STA as "one of the symbols of press freedom" in Slovenia.

The protesters lit a "symbolic flame of uprising" outside the STA before proceeding to the large square in front of the parliament building where they lit a "protest bonfire" in keeping with the Slovenian tradition to light bonfires on the eve of Labour Day.

In calling on people to take part in today's protest, the Protest People's Assembly said the incumbent government did not represent the idea "of our forbearers who fought for freedom, and the majority of population does not want to continue in the direction leading into demise of democracy and rule of law".

After what was a crowd of 10,000 protesters by police estimates gathered in Ljubljana on Tuesday to "declare their vote of no confidence in the government" it was now time for "MPs, who are clinging to their seats and positions, to do the same", the movement said.

They believe that democracy, the rule of law and media freedom have never been under such a threat in Slovenia before, that social distress of young people has never been so grave, and the country's international reputation never so tarnished as today, two months ahead of the start of Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the EU.

30 Apr 2021, 14:46 PM

STA, 30 April 2021 - Foreign Minister Anže Logar received his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi on Friday with the pair calling for enhancing cooperation between Slovenia and Japan both in business and politics, as Slovenia sees potential in high-tech. The pair also exchanged views on the Western Balkans and the Indo-Pacific region. 

Logar said Japan was one of the most important trade partners and investors in the programme for encouraging investment and internationalisation of the Slovenian economy in the next four years.

Slovenia sees potential particularly in high-tech, artificial intelligence, automotive and pharmaceutical industries, infrastructure and health.

The Japanese minister too called for more cooperation in business and other fields, including in cyber security.

Logar pointed out that both countries devoted a lot of attention to cooperation in cyber security, which will also be one of priorities of Slovenia's presidency to the EU Council in the second half of the year.

The ministers also discussed cooperation as regards to the Western Balkans. In the light of support to EU accession of the Western Balkans, Japan wishes to cooperate with Slovenia, which knows the situation in the region well, Motegi said.

Japan would also like to cooperate with Slovenia as the EU presiding country regarding the Indo-Pacific region, he said. He welcomed the EU's strategy on cooperation in that region, which was presented earlier this month.

According to Logar, the ministers agreed that Slovenia and Japan shared values regarding cooperation, that they both strive for international order based on law, for tramp trade, open and fair environment, trade and boosting of resilience.

These are the values and principles that are essential for the port of Koper, Logar pointed out.

He also expressed support to Japan organising the Olympic and para-Olympic games, to be hosted by Tokyo this summer. Motegi thanked him for that and asserted that all efforts were being invested in making the events safe.

Motegi also met President Borut Pahor today and will also hold talks with Prime Minister Janez Janša. He will continue his tour of Central European and East European countries in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

All our stories on Slovenia and Japan

30 Apr 2021, 10:27 AM

STA, 29 April 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday to discuss the countries' successive presidencies of the Council of the EU. Macron said before the talks that coordination was needed because of the extraordinary circumstances in which the two countries will hold the presidency.

The French president said before meeting Janša that the Slovenian and French presidencies would be held in exceptional circumstances as Europe is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and trying to avoid an economic crisis. "That is why we need to be perfectly coordinated," he said.

According to Macron, Europe must stay united in dealing with the health crisis. Noting that vaccination would enable a careful return to the normal life, he called for more investment in the development and production of vaccines.

The president also expressed hope that the process of adopting national recovery plans and the ratification of the legislation enabling financing would be concluded by summer.

He said he would discuss with Janša the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency, bilateral relations and regional issues, especially in the Western Balkans and the EU's neighbourhood.

Janša said Slovenia and France cooperated in many areas, from economy to culture and sports, sharing the same views on most issues as part of the EU.

He noted that the two countries had signed an agreement on strategic partnership ten years ago.

France is one of the most important economic partners of Slovenia, with trade in goods reaching EUR 3 billion before the pandemic, and trade in services half a billion, Janša said, calling for more French investment in Slovenia.

He said the main priority of Slovenia's EU presidency would be to boost the EU's resilience to crises such as pandemics and cyber attacks. He also mentioned speeding up efforts for EU enlargement to the Western Balkans.

Janša stressed there were many obstacles in this respect that needed to be overcome. He pointed to the EU's commitment made at the summit in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2003, which guaranteed an EU future to Western Balkan countries when they meet the conditions for membership.

"That is the only prospective positive solution for the region that we see ahead," Janša was quoted as saying by his office.

The Slovenian EU presidency in the second half of 2021 and the French EU presidency in the first half of 2022 will also be connected through the conference of the future of the EU. Janša said most of the debates would be held during Slovenia's stint and expressed hope France would wrap up the conference successfully.

Janša's office said that the prime minister had also expressed condolences to the family of the French police officer Stephanie Monferme, who was killed last week, noting that "we will fight together for zero tolerance to terror".

The prime minister also invited Macron to Slovenia for the celebration of the country's 30th independence anniversary.

29 Apr 2021, 21:55 PM

STA, 29 April 2021 - The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, EUR 2.5 million granted by Slovenia to the Slovenian Press Agency (Slovenska tiskovna agencija – STA) in compensation to fulfil its public service mission.

"The public funding will contribute to the independent news provision to the Slovenian public without unduly distorting competition in the single market," the Commission said in announcing its decision on Thursday.

"Today's decision will enable the Slovenian Press Agency STA to continue deliver its important public service. Independent news agencies play an essential role in news media," said Margrethe Vestager, the Commission vice-president who is in charge of competition policy.

"The preservation of an independent national press agency in a member state ensures that news media can refer to a news stream which reports on national and international developments, from the perspective of that country," said Vestager, adding this contributed to the plurality of media and information sources throughout the EU.

Vera Jourova, the Commission vice-president for values and transparency, tweeted: "Funding should be unlocked as soon as possible for the agency to continue its public service - and its independence should remain protected."

Considering that Slovenia had notified the Commission of these funds, the Commission considers that Slovenia intends to pay out the funds, competition speaker Arianna Podesta said.

Podesta said the Commission had made the decision because Slovenia did not wish to withdraw the notification even though the Commission made it clear that a decision is not required for Slovenia to pay out the funds.

The Commission took the decision based on Slovenia's notification in late January of its plan to compensate the STA with EUR 2.5 million for carrying out its activities of informing the Slovenian public about national and international news in 2021.

Having examined the measure, the Commission concluded it is in line with EU state aid rules, as it "fosters a service of general public interest and promotes media plurality, without unduly distorting competition".

It found the STA performs a service of general economic interest, which it could not provide for its national market to the desired extent by its own means and revenues.

"The funding is limited to what is needed to perform STA's public service tasks, which it has to offer free of charge. An annual external and independent audit is ensuring the supervision of these conditions," reads the Commission's argument.

The decision has been welcomed by the STA, which has been without state funding as granted by the law for its public service for the 119th day. The agency said the decision "removes yet another obstacle that the government as the agency's sole shareholder has set to undisrupted financing of the STA".

However, Prime Minister Janez Janša said on the sidelines of his visit to France today that the decision referred to the funds that had already been paid out.

"As far as I know it is the money that has been paid out after the bill was passed in the National Assembly. It was, however, necessary to request for the European Commission's consent under the existing rules. The Finance Ministry has done this and as you say the consent arrived today. But this concerns the funds that have already been paid out," Janša told the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.

STA director Bojan Veselinovič said this was "pure manipulation and a lie". He noted the government had requested for the Commission's opinion on the financing in line with the seventh stimulus law in January, meaning after it entered into force on 31 December 2020.

"The STA has not received a single euro for this year although the Government Communication Office announced in a press release in January that everything would be paid for when the European Commission makes its final decision, which happened today," Veselinovič said.

Janša responded to this on Twitter saying that the STA had received full payment for last year based on its contract with the Government Communication Office (UKOM) "although the STA did not forward the due documents". "All the rest will be transferred after the STA fulfils its legal obligations, government decisions and when a contract is signed with the UKOM. As is the common practice."

The Finance Ministry has not responded to the Commission's decision, while the UKOM told the STA it had not yet received the decision and could thus not comment.

In its first reactions to the notification in January, the Commission said European state aid rules could not serve as an excuse to suspend financing of press agencies in the EU and that state funding may be provided to the STA without a prior notification or the Commission's approval.

The Commission's spokesperson for competition Arianna Podesta said today the Commission had made the decision because the Slovenian authorities would not withdraw the notification of STA financing.

Asked whether the Commission could launch a procedure against the Slovenian authorities if they did not grant the state aid, the Commission said the decision on state aid was in the hands of member states. The EU rules on state aid do not obligate member states to grant state aid, it added.

29 Apr 2021, 13:11 PM

STA, 28 April 2021 - The latest annual report by the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists is critical of what it sees as the Slovenian government's attempts at undermining independent media and stoking harassment of journalists. The platform is particularly alarmed by the situation of RTV Slovenija and the STA.

The 2021 report, which analyses the situation of European media in the past year, was released today. It warns that massive damage was done to media freedom in 2020 and points to increased harassment of journalists as well as a growing number of physical or verbal attacks against them.

The platform reported a record 201 alerts of media freedom violations in 2020, an almost 40% increase on 2019. Only three of those were resolved by the end of 2020. The governments replied to 42% of them, which compares to 50% in 2019.

Slovenia was no exception to this alarming trend, the report says, primarily voicing concerns over the suspension of financing of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) and the government's plans to enact legislative changes that would defund the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.

"The Slovenian government should cease all efforts to damage the independence and credibility of Slovenian public media," the report says.

Slovenia is listed as one of the countries where online harassment of journalists was often fuelled by politicians in the past year.

"Alerts show a high number of verbal attacks in some member states - North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey - being made by representatives of public authorities, including by ministers and heads of government."

RTV Slovenija reporters were the target of online smears and abuse, not only by members of the public, "but by right-wing media outlets and, on some occasions, prominent politicians".

The report highlights an alert in March 2020 that reported a defamation and hate campaign led by the government against journalist Blaž Zgaga. Another alert was issued in April 2020, focusing on Prime Minister Janez Janša's attacks on RTV Slovenija on social media.

Moreover, the report mentions Janša's insulting tweet describing two RTV female reporters as "washed-up prostitutes".

One of them, Eugenija Carl, was also the target of threats, insults and harassment on social media by Janša's supporters and later received a threatening letter containing white powder. Her case is used as an example of how quickly digital threats could translate into the physical world with potentially grave consequences.

The platform notes that Slovenia was one of the countries who in 2020 suspended deadlines by which public bodies were required to respond to freedom of information requests.

The report also warns about the chilling effect of abusive legal proceedings across Europe, noting that defamation should be decriminalised.

"In Slovenia three journalists from the online outlet Necenzurirano.si are facing 13 criminal defamation suits each over a series of articles reporting on the business dealings and connections of Rok Snežič, a friend and tax policy adviser to Prime Minister Janez Janša."

Ahead of 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić called on EU member states in the report to show more political will to protect journalists and independent journalism and to stop the situation from further deterioration.

A PDF of the full report is here

28 Apr 2021, 12:36 PM

STA, 27 April 2021 - Foreign Minister Anže Logar said the "phantom non-paper" on Western Balkans that some media attributed to Slovenia does not exist and discussion on that damaged Slovenia as well as Bosnia-Herzegovina, at a debate by the foreign policy and EU affairs committees late on Monday.

The minister reiterated that Slovenia's strategy to Western Balkans had not changed. On the contrary, Slovenia has invested additional efforts since the preparation of an EU-Western Balkans was a major priority for Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency.

"Nobody, and I mean nobody, expects that opposition politicians will denigrate the country in Slovenia just so that they will somehow harm the country this way. This simply does not exist in a developed democratic mentality."

The statement came at a joint session requested by the opposition in the aftermath of media reports that Prime Minister Janez Janša had circulated a non-paper that spoke about the redrawing of borders along ethnic lines in the Balkans.

The MPs wanted Janša, who has dismissed the notion that he had anything to do with the published non-paper, to appear live, but he did not attend, quoting other obligations.

President Borut Pahor's foreign policy advisor Smiljana Knez told MPs the president had dedicated a lot of attention to the region for years and was an advocate of he preservation of territorial integrity of countries in the region and the resolution of disputes between them in a neighbourly spirit.

She said Pahor had been warning regional leaders and EU institutions that EU enlargement may not be just a technical process, it should be framed geopolitically.

Knez reiterated Pahor's statement that the president had not been informed of any non-paper concerning Western Balkans that had been the subject of media reports.

Jerneje Jug Jerše, the head of the European Commission's Liaison Office in Slovenia, said the European Commission did not have knowledge about informl documents concerning Western Balkans.

EU officials in general have denied having knowledge of such a non-paper, most recently the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who said yesterday he had not received such a document but had heard about it, adding that this was "a non-issue".

The same message was delivered by Janez Stušek, the director of the Slovenian intelligence agency SOVA, who said the agency did not have information about the existence of an alleged non-paper that is being linked to the Slovenian government.

The agency started checking certain activities concerning this document after it was published in the media, in particular the potential consequences thereof for bilateral relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina and the upcoming EU presidency.

According to Stušek, the agency did not have information indicating that the publication of the document posed a threat to Slovenia's national security, but it assessed that if the alleged non-paper continues to be linked to Slovenia, this could jeopardise its security, economic and political interests in the region.

The story broke non 12 April when a Bosnian portal, politički.ba, published a piece alleging that a non-paper attributed to Slovenia exists.

A Slovenian portal, necenzurirano.si, on 15 April published a document that speaks about redrawing borders. It said its authorship could not be verified.

Logar said that the author of the original article had sold weapons and had been involved in a Bosnian scandal involving medical ventilators.

The Government Communications Office last week issued a denial concerning Slovenian authorship of the alleged non-paper that was circulated to media in the region.

27 Apr 2021, 19:25 PM

STA, 27 April 2021 - Several thousand people defied the ban on gatherings on Tuesday to mount an anti-government protest that wound its way through the centre of Ljubljana, with protesters stopping in front of the Government Palace, Presidential Palace and Parliament House.

The rally, which started in Prešeren Square, was organised by the same leftist activist groups that have staged weekly anti-government demonstrations since last spring and was timed to coincide with Resistance Day, which commemorates the start of resistance against occupying forces in WWII.

One of the organisers, a Facebook group called Popular Protest Assembly, said the rally was a call for "freedom, democracy, rule of law and the immediate resignation of Janez Janša and new elections".

It said this year's Resistance Day was "dedicated to the new united front" which is fighting repression and "reign of terror". It accused the government of having mounted attacks on groups including cultural workers, media, NGOs and intellectuals.

Several speakers appeared, including Živa Vidmar, the daughter of Liberation Front founder Josip Vidmar, journalism professor Sandra Bašič Hrvatin, criminal law expert Dragan Petrovec, environmentalist Uroš Macerl and poet Boris A. Novak. Choirs sang Partisan songs of resistance.

Protesters wore banners with slogans including Janšism = Fascism, Youths Care, People Have the Power, slogans in favour of the protection of drinking water, and flags with bicycles, which have become the symbol of anti-government protests.

The group then made their way to the square in front of Parliament House past the Government Palace and the Presidential Palace. Speeches were delivered at all the locations.

Such protests have been held for a year and were a weekly occurrence through autumn, when a lockdown was imposed. They started again last week after restrictions were eased.

Police said in advance of the protest today they would monitor the gathering and compliance with restrictions. There were no immediate reports of any altercations with the police.

The current rule is that up to ten people may gather, with ten square metres per person a minimum requirement. Social media livestreams indicate distancing was not observed and although most were wearing masks, many were unmasked.

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