Manfred Weber

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, defined the management of the Bulgarian-Turkish border as the most urgent task in connection with the strengthening of the land borders of the EU. She said this to the plenary hall of the European Parliament in Brussels during a debate on migration and asylum.

Ljubljana – Defence Minister Matej Tonin described the ministerial team of his Christian democratic party as the most efficient part of the current government as New Slovenia (NSi) held a campaign convention in Ljubljana on Wednesday. He said Slovenia deserved a good government, but there could not be such a government without the NSi.

Ljubljana/Medvode – Manfred Weber, chair of the European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, endorsed the Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) as he came to Slovenia on Tuesday, just days before the official end of the campaign for Sunday’s general election.

Medvode – Prime Minister Janez Janša, the leader of the Democrats (SDS), highlighted his party’s track record in government and its stimulus policies, and rebuked the opposition, as he addressed SDS members at a convention on Tuesday, the party’s last major event before polling day.

Ljubljana – New Slovenia (NSi) met for a virtual congress on Saturday in preparation for next year’s general election where their leader Matej Tonin said this Christian democratic party should get the mandate to form a government in order to avoid the “inefficiency” of the centre-left and the “sharpness” of the senior partner in the current ruling coalition.

Strasbourg – MEPs from the majority of political groups in the European Parliament sent PM Janez Janša some stark messages about the rule of law after he presented Slovenia’s EU presidency priorities in the Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday. His European People’s Party (EPP) too urged him to promptly appoint European delegated prosecutors.

President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday said that joining the Schengen Area "remains a major political goal for Romania," although the health crisis has seriously affected the Area. "With regard to Schengen, in the context of the health crisis and the measures taken by some Member States, the functionality of the Schengen area has obviously been seriously affected.

President Klaus Iohannis will take part in an online debate on Wednesday organized by the European People's Party Group (EPP Group) in the European Parliament, under the title "Let's talk about Europe!," the Presidential Administration announced on Tuesday.

Brussels – Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša has called on Dutch MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld (Renew/D66) to resign as chair of the European Parliament’s democracy monitoring group. The move comes after Friday’s incident during the group’s public debate and censorship allegations.

"The governing body of Fidesz has decided to leave the EPP Group immediately," Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote in a letter to Manfred Weber, chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament. "The amendments to the rules of the EPP Group are clearly a hostile move against Fidesz and our voters."