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Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, criticized the Slovenian government for its approach to media freedom and the judiciary, which marked a turbulent start to the country’s EU presidency.
In a press conference that began Slovenia’s six-month term as EU leader, von der Leyen stressed the need for a free and independent media as “the essence of democracy” and called for Prime Minister Janez Jansa to unblock the funding of a publicly owned news agency.
In a difficult exchange, he urged Jansa to appoint his country’s representatives to the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) with “utmost urgency” and insisted that judges were entitled to their personal political views.
Critics are increasingly concerned about Slovenian democratic norms and the rule of law, amid fears that Jansa may follow a path similar to that of Viktor Orban, the illiberal Hungarian prime minister.
Along with von der Leyen, Jansa defended his government’s records and insisted that he supported the EU’s principles of respect for human rights, as well as “cultural differences” between its members. “The rule of law is the basic framework of European civilization,” he said.
His tense press conference followed a difficult meeting between Jansa and EU commissioners who visited the country.
At an extraordinary time, Jansa showed a photograph of two Slovenian judges portrayed with politicians from the center-left, who hinted that their country’s justice system was politically biased, according to people familiar with the meeting.
Frans Timmermans, executive vice president of the commission and a member of the Socialist and Democrat political grouping, later declined to appear in a group photo. “I just couldn’t be on the same podium with Prime Minister Jansa” after the attack on the two judges, he said in a statement.
What was supposed to be a meeting to discuss Slovenia’s agenda for the EU had become an event in which the Slovenian Prime Minister complained about the way his country is being treated, highlighting his strained relations with Brussels.
Von der Leyen did not refer to the photograph at the subsequent press conference, but told reporters that judges had the right to be members of political parties, adding that “this is a fact in all democracies.”
In March, the Slovenian Association of State Prosecutors complained to the Council of Europe, the region’s democracy watchdog, about what it called “numerous inadmissible pressures” on the country’s justice system. He also noted Slovenia’s delay in appointing two delegates to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, set up to prosecute misuse of EU funds.
Jansa has often used Twitter to attack media organizations and journalists. At an EU summit last month, he also expressed support for Orban during an emotional outing debate on a Hungarian bill to ban content that represents or promotes LGBTI + people in schools and the media.
Thursday’s meeting came as the commission approved the Slovenian recovery and resilience plan, a key step towards the EU offering € 1.8 billion in grants and € 705 million in loans under its EU plan. new generation.
Jansa praised von der Leyen at the press conference for Brussels’ treatment of the pandemic and said he believed in the EU’s founding principles. He said his country could act as an “honest runner”, but it was also unrealistic to expect the union to be a melting pot where “we all think alike”.
No one could accuse his country of violating judicial independence, he said, and defended his country’s management of the EPPO. While other member states, including Sweden, Ireland, Hungary and Poland, had not even joined the body, Slovenia had no intention of withdrawing.
He also defended his government’s decision to withhold funding from Slovenia’s STA news agency this year, suggesting the money had been withheld due to paperwork problems and a solution could be found.
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