European Parliament to vote on Slovenia resolution next week

Strasbourg – The European Parliament will take a vote on a resolution on the rule of law and fundamental rights in Slovenia at the plenary session in Strasbourg next Thursday, follows from the agenda endorsed by the parliament’s leadership today. The draft resolution is not available yet as the deadline for its submission has been moved from today to Friday.

The agenda was endorsed by the Conference of Presidents, which comprises the parliament’s president and the heads of political groups. The result of the vote on the Slovenia resolution is expected on Thursday, 16 December, at around 4pm.

According to unofficial sources, the largest political group in the parliament, the European People’s Party, sought to have the resolution withdrawn from the agenda as two key issues that were the reason for the resolution, that is the delayed appointment of Slovenia’s delegated prosecutors to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the financing of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), have since been resolved.

MEPs discussed rule of law and fundamental rights in Slovenia at the November plenary in Strasbourg when they noted progress in the appointment of delegated prosecutors and STA financing, while also criticising the government’s conduct in both cases.

Criticism was directed mainly from the ranks of European socialists (S&D), liberals (Renew), Greens and the Left, while Romana Tomc and Milan Zver, representatives of the European People’s Party (EPP), who are both members of the ruling Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), argued the discussion was politically motivated.

Just days after the plenary debate in Strasbourg, the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) meeting in Brussels discussed a report on its fact-finding mission to Slovenia in October.

The debate on the committee saw a heated exchange between MEP Tomc, who said the mission had missed the mark, and chair Sophie in ‘t Veld, who urged the EPP to cooperate constructively.

In its publicly released report the LIBE mission’s expressed deep concern over the climate of hostility and deep polarisation in Slovenia, which it said undermined trust in and between public institutions.

The delegation also expressed regret that it could not meet PM Janez Janša or any of the ministers for an exchange of views during its visit to Slovenia.

It concluded that the worrisome situation demanded follow-up monitoring, including with all measures at the European Parliament’s disposal.

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