Tanja Fajon

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.

Ljubljana – Mario Fafangel, the head of the centre for communicable diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), has resigned from the team advising the government on measures to contain coronavirus, saying decisions taken are often in disagreement with the epidemiologists’ opinion and protocols.

Ljubljana – The Vox Populi poll for April shows support for the government continues to fall while there are also more respondents who consider its performance successful. The ruling Democrats (SDS) continued to poll highest among political parties whereas over a fifth of the respondents had problems with access to healthcare during the Covid epidemic.

Ljubljana – Senior Slovenian officials have condemned Friday’s petrol bomb attack on the house of Vesna Fabjan, Kočevje local councillor for the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ). President Borut Pahor called for tolerance and mutual respect.

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.

Ljubljana – An online discussion on the EU’s post-pandemic economic recovery hosted by the European Parliament Office on Monday showed that opinions vary on the quality of Slovenia’s national recovery plan, but the participants agreed that the country should make the best use of the one month it still has to finalise the plan.

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.

Ljubljana – The left-leaning opposition responded with criticism to Prime Minister Janez Janša’s letter to the European Commission that invites a fact-finding mission to Slovenia. The responses range from assessments that he is diverting attention and calls that the situation should be calmed down, to such that he is not fit for the post.

Ljubljana – President Borut Pahor has expanded his initiative for cooperation among political parties with a call for a meeting of leaders of all parliamentary parties. He would like to measure support for his proposal that parties reach a consensus on focusing on the fight against the epidemic, on post-pandemic recovery and Slovenia’s EU presidency.