Is Slovenia following the path of Hungary, when deputies are alarmed by the rule of law?
As Slovenia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union enters its final days, Ljubljana has found itself in the spotlight in Brussels – but not in the way it expected.
European Parliament on Thursday voted in favor of the decision criticized for the first time the small Balkan nation for its “state of EU values”.
In the text, MEPs say they are “deeply concerned about the level of public debate, the atmosphere of hostility, mistrust and deep polarization in Slovenia, which has undermined trust in and between public authorities”.
It is also concerned about the freedom of the media in the country and the delay in appointing delegates to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Prime Minister Janez Janša, an ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is a member of the European People’s Party’s strong conservative group in the European Parliament. MEPs voted against or abstained.
Critics say the right-wing political group is essentially repeating what it once did with Orbán, closing its eyes to the decline of the rule of law in its ranks.
They also draw a parallel between Orbán’s attempts at media control and attacks on press freedom reported in Slovenia, with Janša infamously calling journalists “prostitutes”.
However, according to the NGO Freedom House, Slovenia still enjoys a high rating of 95% World rankings Freedom 2021 – compared to only 69% in Hungary, the only country in the EU that the human rights group considers to be “partially free” and not “free”.
So how true is the comparison and does Ljubljana slide against the “illiberal democracy” that Orbán openly promotes?
Here is what legislators and experts have told Euronews.
Attacks on media freedom
“We got a new right-wing government in March 2020. And since then, we have faced many questions about fundamental principles, including the rule of law,” said Marko Milosavljevic, a professor of journalism at the University of Ljubljana.
“Especially in my field of expertise, we see a strong increase in pressure and problems facing the media – freedom of the media, freedom of expression, as well as many other civil liberties, harassment of critical journalists and attempts to discredit – sometimes very vulgar. hostile – any criticism, “the professor told Euronews.
The EP resolution drew attention to problems with the financing of the Slovenian news agency STA, with “payments still in debt”, even if funding is re-established.
Milosavljevic described “the government’s attempts to control public service broadcasting, as has been the case in Hungary in the past.”
“The manager of the television has actually changed. In addition, the editor-in-chief of Television Slovenia and some other key editors have resigned.”
“Everyone resigned because the plans of the new leadership were so drastic and so dangerous to maintain the key role of news broadcasts in public radio and television,” Milosavljevic said.
In addition, the scientist continued, with the announced appointment of new members close to the ruling coalition, “the government is gaining control of the programming council and the supervisory board of public service broadcasting”.
The new management and interim editors described the editorial interventions as “already problematic”, the expert said.
Among other cases, “according to media reports, there was a phone call to the main evening news program demanding the inclusion of a certain politician as a guest,” Milosavljevic said.
“Although the editors of this TV show did not intend to include this, they were asked to do so, and the TV show was extended by five minutes. In addition, a critical lawyer’s statement was removed from the site. TV report and was not broadcast.”
According to the program plan, more news programs will be eliminated or moved to a channel with a lower audience, Milosavljević added.
In addition, there have been attempts to change mass media laws that would obstruct or punish particularly critical media with accumulated articles aimed at specific companies, he continued.
More positively, Green MEP Tineka Strik told Euronews that the Slovenian press was “quite resilient”.
“It’s not that they are immediately intimidated, but the way they are attacked by the government really poses a risk of undermining their authority because in a certain way they are positioned as if they are not trustworthy,” Strik said.
The MEP from the Netherlands was part of a fact-finding mission to MEPs who traveled to Ljubljana to address concerns about the rule of law in the country. The mission angered Janša, who in a tweet, which was later deleted, described some deputies as “Soros puppets”. The Hungarian philanthropist has become a favorite target of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
“Many lawsuits and attacks can also have a chilling effect on journalism. If you are afraid to express your opinion, write critical articles for fear of lawsuits and financial damages, this is of course not healthy in a true democracy. Where you have to have control and balance,” he told Euronews. said Uncle.
Concerns about the independence of the judiciary and civil liberties
In addition to freedom of the press, MEPs also expressed concern about the judiciary, in particular with regard to appointments to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“The government’s unwillingness to nominate candidates for the EPJ,” was a debate during a fact-finding mission by MEPs, Strik said. “When we were there, it was still rejected. Then it was finally approved. But we learned that there is draft legislation that ensures that this nomination is only temporary,” she added.
“This is a violation of EU law. It should not be temporary because we should be independent. And if you do it temporarily, you create some dependence. That is why the resolution calls on the government to withdraw this draft legislation and bring it into line with EU law.”
“We have also heard that many important judgments have not been complied with. We therefore call on the government to take the judgments into account, as this is very important for the rule of law,” the MEP told Euronews.
According to Milosavljevic, the government also used “an excuse to restrict certain freedoms and rights because of COVID. Of course, these things far exceeded all reasonable limits.”
“People were prevented, for example, from sitting in a public square in front of parliament and reading the state constitution. People were sitting a few meters away from each other and all they were doing was sitting and reading excerpts. From the constitution. Nevertheless. that they did not provoke violence or any other problem in the sense of COVID, they removed these people from the market and received penalties for their gatherings, “the scientist told Euronews.
“The issues are resolved,” the MEP said
While the European Parliament’s resolution touches on “all the criticisms we have had”, it is “formulated in a very cautious way,” Strik warned.
“I think we could have been even stronger, but we’ve actually been able to negotiate with other groups.”
“I was very disappointed to see that this EPP decided for political reasons and probably due to Janša’s pressure not to follow suit,” the MEP told Euronews.
“We have to have the same standards in all the Member States, so we also wrote this in a way that we thought: you can’t be against it,” Strik said.
But Romana Tomc, an MEP from Slovenia, said in a statement that Jansa had been unfairly attacked as part of a political maneuver.
“It is clear from the very beginning that this is an attempt by the Slovenian opposition to attack the current center-right government of Janez Janša,” the statement said.
“The resolution has nothing to do with the actual state of the rule of law in Slovenia. The main criticisms regarding the non-appointment of delegated prosecutors and funding [Slovenian press agency] The STAs are not insignificant, as the issues have been resolved, “they wrote.
“On the other hand, the resolution does not mention important facts that would highlight all the shortcomings of the rule of law, draw attention to the inadmissible and unbalanced state of the media, their covert ownership and highlight the systemic corruption in Slovenia. Slovenia since its inception, “Tomc continued.
“The resolution on Slovenia has narrowed from brutal attacks on the government and harsh accusations undermining the rule of law to some general findings that could be safely attributed to each of the EU governments.”
“That is why I also condemn this national attempt, which is in line with European left-wing policies in their goal of weakening center-right governments, in terms of the abuse of power by the European Parliament,” Tomc concluded.
Looking ahead
Milosavljevic said the EP resolution was a “small contribution” to the work of Slovenian journalists and human rights defenders in protecting the rule of law, but “I do not believe it will change anything.”
“We have seen many statements by European politicians and institutions. However, these statements have either been attacked by the Slovenian government – often very harshly – or ignored.”
“Of course, we need to see what will happen in the elections in April. But as we saw in Hungary with Viktor Orban and in Serbia with Aleksandar Vučić, after years of control or at least years. Critical media voices in power were almost completely in power. silenced. “
Strik was more optimistic about the impact the resolution could have in the future, especially in the upcoming elections.
“I think it is very important that the resolution was adopted, because these recommendations are still backed by a majority in parliament. They will soon be in the country of elections. So whoever will be in power in the coming months will have to follow the recommendations of parliament.”
After all, some see recent events in Slovenia as another symptom of the new “Iron Curtain” in Europe.
A report released last month by the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Aid highlighted the “democratic decline” in three European Union member states, namely Hungary, Poland and Slovenia.
“We have seen statements by Viktor Orban and also by Janez Jansa that some of these principles, including the rule of law, are not the principles of the whole of Europe, that these are Western European principles, but that in Eastern Europe we have specific, different principles because of our history or whatever. the other, “Milosavljevic said.
“I think this is, of course, just an excuse to try to establish more autocratic regimes that are not controlled and not constrained by strong institutions like the European Union and the European Commission.”
Euronews turned to the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union for comments, but did not receive a response when it was published.
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