The delegation of the Committee of the European Parliament, headed by Sophie in ‘t Veld, came to a three-day visit to Slovenia this week. They were supposed to also have a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Culture, but because the MEPs did not allow the meeting to be filmed, the ministry cancelled it. Why are the MEPs afraid of the meeting being recorded?
“The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia regrets that the meeting with the delegation of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) did not happen. At the ministry, we wanted to record the meeting, but the delegation refused. The video recording and magnetic tape of the meeting would only be used for internal purposes and intended for the preparation of the minutes for the archives of the ministry,” wrote the ministry.
The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia understands that such meetings are internal, meaning that there should be no representatives of the media or the public present, even though politicians at all levels should strive for the greatest possible openness to the public. “We also believe that there is no reason to not allow filming, at least for internal purposes, and this decision made by the delegation of the European Parliament seems unreasonable to us. That is why we cancelled today’s meeting with the delegation.”
Sara Kovač
