On the first day of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we reported that the Commission approved Slovenia’s recovery and resilience plan, worth 2.5 billion euros. Now, however, new information has come to light, which reveals that some people have made considerable efforts to obstruct this approval – and among them was also our European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, who tried to harm his own homeland, and the plan was apparently woven by our most sympathetic MEP, Tanja Fajon, who has decided that she is responsible for managing Slovenia’s reputation in the European Parliament.
At the beginning of the presidency, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, had decided to not be in the group photo, however, Janez Lenarčič was in the photo – the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, who many people have already forgotten about, as he had not been seen for quite some time. Many people on social media wondered where he has been all this time and what was he doing. And we have the answer: he earned the reputation of being the first Commissioner who tried to harm his own homeland. Namely, our Commissioner for Crisis Management joined the appeal for conditioning the approval of the Slovenian recovery and resilience plan. Did he perhaps misunderstand his title and thought managing a crisis actually meant causing it? As we did not really see him dealing with any other crises either. Namely, the last time we heard a word or two from Lenarčič was back in March, when he pointed out that he had been noticing a lot of discussions about Slovenia happening in Brussels at various levels. “The fact is that in the history of its membership in the EU, Slovenia has never been the subject of treatment in a similar way to how it was recently dealt with in the European Parliament,” he said, adding that he was saddened by that, as it was not a sign of the country’s reputation getting better. Well, now it is perfectly clear that he is also one of the people who are trying to change Slovenia’s reputation in the Eu, in a way which would serve their own agenda and, of course, potentially harm our country.
The other commissioners were surprised by Lenarčič’s actions
According to our information, the action in question was prepared by Timmermans himself – because he was urged to do it by the“aunt from the background,” the perpetually worried MEP Tanja Fajon, of course, who spends most of her time dealing with Slovenia’s reputation. We have learned that some liberals – but not all – have also joined the socialist Commissioners. Practically everyone in the European Commission was surprised by Lenarčič’s position, including those who otherwise supported Timmermans – which is understandable, since none of them would want to do something similar to their own country, as this is exclusively a Slovenian “speciality” – similar to that with the cows and neighbours. We also sent a few press questions to the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, as we were interested in how he felt about his new title, so the title of the first Commissioner to try to harm his own homeland.
In the debate on Slovenia’s recovery plan, there was a very strong impetus to address politically sensitive issues
Didier Reynders’s cabinet has been asked to add a milestone in the appointment of Slovenian prosecutors to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). Vera Jourova’s cabinet noted that in some member states, including Slovenia, there are concerns about media pluralism, especially when it comes to state advertising, which only supports the pro-government media. They asked if the plan addressed these issues. The cabinet of Virginijus Sinkevičius called for a text on biodiversity support to be added and to ensure that DNSH rules are respected during implementation, especially for the infrastructure projects. Environmental issues affect the lives of citizens. All these demands were supported by the cabinets of Janez Lenarčič, Paolo Gentiloni and the cabinet of Commissioner Ylva Johansson. However, the response of the President’s office was that recovery plans for Europe must address social responsibility, and if this is not the case, there will be less leverage to act. However, milestones cannot be added unilaterally, this must be done in agreement with all of the member states. At this stage, that is difficult to achieve, as it would mean a delay in adoption. The matter must therefore be given due consideration. Regarding the media, it was pointed out that broader media issues were not part of the plan. The plan should not take over or replace horizontal policy issues but contribute to addressing corporate social responsibility recommendations and other defined policy objectives. However, Johannes Hahn emphasised that the issues raised were a part of an ongoing debate on the conditionality of the rule of law and that the options given had to be carefully considered and harmonised – no casual decisions can be made here.
“Janez Janša is therefore entering the European floor wearing a yellow jacket. That will make him even more visible. As well as more vulnerable. Because people no longer believe in empty promises. They are fed up with pretence. And the Presidency of the European Council is not an elite protocol masquerade. It is an opportunity to draw attention to ourselves and leave the right mark with the right moves,” Fajon told the media outlets at the beginning of the Slovenian presidency. She also said she wishes that Slovenia would prove itself, which would mean that the government would have to abandon the current rhetoric and methods and use this presidency to correct some of its past mistakes in the spirit of European values and solidarity, and at least try to alleviate the catastrophic impression it has left in the European space over the last year. “It is our duty to do this for our people, for the reputation of our country,” she concluded her speech, which was full of faked ignorance – as it was mostly her who tried hard to make Slovenia’s impression worse. And she has proven before that she is a master of empty promises and pretence. Her attitude towards Slovenia is downright shameful, and it is even more shameful that she is well paid for tarnishing the reputation of our country in the EU.
Sara Bertoncelj
