Irena Joveva

Ljubljana – The senior coalition Freedom Movement approved with more than 90% of votes mergers with the non-parliamentary parties the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) in an online congress on Monday.

Ljubljana – Several parties welcomed on Thursday the European Commission’s announcement that the state funding of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) does not constitute state aid because the STA is performing a public service. Most opposition parties said the government had inquired about this to delay the payment. The government has not responded.

Brussels – Prime Minister Janez Janša’s appearance in front of the European Parliament’s democracy monitoring group was overshadowed by a row with chair Sophie in ‘t Veld over a video alleging journalists are biased. After In ‘t Veld refused to play the video during the time allotted for his statement, Janša disconnected from the videoconference.

Ljubljana/Brussels – Five Slovenian MEPs have supported the motion to speed up the adoption of the Digital Green Certificate in European Parliament in urgent procedure, while three voted against, drawing criticism from Prime Minister Janez Janša.

Brussels – Addressing the EU Parliament plenary on Wednesday, EU Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova pointed to continuous attempts to undermine the sustainable funding and the independence of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA). She also noted that frequent verbal attacks against journalists in the country were cause for concern.

Brussels – State aid rules enable member states to grant state aid to press agencies as compensation for services of general economic interest, an European Commission spokesperson said on Monday. Under certain conditions, compensation may be granted without prior approval by the Commission.