Janez Janša

Ljubljana, 3 May – A month-long fundraising campaign kicked off on World Press Freedom Day in a bid to secure funding for the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), which has not received budget funds for the performance of public service for four months.

Brussels – Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova announced on World Press Freedom Day a visit to Slovenia to “test the waters” and start a dialogue on an initiative promoting security of journalists. She also also hopes to meet Prime Minister Janez Janša.

Ljubljana – Former Environment Minister Jure Leben is returning to politics to launch the Party of Green Action (Z.DEJ), whose founding congress will be held online on Saturday. In conceiving the manifesto, the main question was how to find a balance between industrial development and environment protection, he told the newspaper Delo.

Paris – Prime Minister Janez Janša met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday to discuss the countries’ successive presidencies of the Council of the EU. Macron said before the talks that coordination was needed because of the extraordinary circumstances in which the two countries will hold the presidency.

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 – The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, EUR 2.5 million granted by Slovenia to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) in compensation to fulfil its public service mission.

The European Commission on Thursday said that it had approved, under EU state aid rules, the Slovenian government's compensation of 2.5 million euros to the Slovenian Press Agency, STA, "to fulfil its public service mission", which is currently hindered by disagreements with the government led by Janez Jansa.

A firmer stance from Brussels - noticeably missing last week - against a controversial document proposing border changes in the Western Balkans would help calm the growing anxieties in the region, analysts said. At the same time, regional and international actors contacted by EURACTIV firmly rejected ideas from the phantom non-paper.

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.

Paris – Slovenia has lost four spots to rank 36th among 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), with the report warning of the “dangerous path for press freedom” in Slovenia.