The Presidency of the European People’s Party (EPP) is concerned about the Golob government’s meddling in state institutions and the media, as well as about corruption, clientelism, nepotism and Prime Minister Golob’s ownership of the company Star Solar. The EPP is, therefore, sending a parliamentary mission to Slovenia.
“Our aim is to do everything we can to prevent further damage to democracy in Slovenia and the undermining of the rule of law and the jeopardising of media freedom,” said MEP Romana Tomc. She added that they are also trying to avoid reaching a situation where we have to think about whether Slovenia is still eligible for European Union funding or not.
“The mission will try to figure out what is going on and will interview some individuals and institutions in Slovenia to find out what the real situation is like,” said MEP Tomc. “The EPP Group will use all its parliamentary powers and the measures at its disposal to prevent further damage in Slovenia.”
Concerns about the rule of law in several EU Member States, and explicitly also in Slovenia, have already been expressed by EPP party leaders at their January meeting in Berlin.
The actions of the EPP
MEP Romana Tomc announced at a press conference that the mission will visit Slovenia in a month or two. She expects a strong and credible mission to meet with the government and representatives of other institutions. The MEP looks forward to a constructive response and cooperation from her interlocutors.
She also revealed that the Group of the European People’s Party will propose to complement the text of the Rule of Law report being prepared by the European Commission with comments on Slovenia. The report is still being drafted and is expected to go to the European Parliament shortly, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reports. Romana Tomc also announced that the EPP will propose a debate on developments in Slovenia within the European Parliament’s Democracy and Rule of Law group.
She also announced a fourth measure, calling on the coordinators of the Justice and Home Affairs group to send a special letter to the government of Robert Golob and to the European Commission, identifying all outstanding issues and calling on both the Commission and the government to respond and clarify the situation.
Ž. K.
