STA, 31 March 2021 - The supervisory board of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) has called on the government to immediately settle all of its outstanding liabilities to the STA and to comply with its legal obligations to finance the STA public service.

The supervisory board established that the STA has been performing its public news service under the STA act without interruption, said Mladen Terčelj, the chair of the board, after Tuesday's session of the supervisory board.

Due to the lack of budget funds, "the company will be insolvent and incapable of meeting its financial obligations a few weeks prior to its 30th anniversary," Terčelj said.

The supervisors discussed the STA management's report about the financial situation, possible insolvency scenarios and proposals to tackle the situation.

The board determined that none of the proposals could offset the shortfall of budget funds. "The last resort measure of downsizing would mean an inability to provide the public service to the extent set by the STA act. At the same time that would mean a scaling down in the commercial service, which is currently the company's only source of financing," Terčelj said.

He also highlighted that under the seventh Covid relief package the state is obliged to fund the STA regardless of whether a public service contract has been signed for this year.

"The government is not respecting its own law, passed in parliament. I personally also think that this is an important constitutional issue of whether the government may ignore a law or put itself above a law passed by the National Assembly," the chief supervisor said.

The supervisory board again urged the government to come up with a 2021 contract for the public service, saying that the STA had been expecting it since December 2020.

Suspending financing of the STA public service without any proven wrongdoing is unacceptable and contrary to rule of law principles, Terčelj noted.

The supervisors also reiterated that all documents and information regarding STA management were available to the government, which exercises the rights of the agency's sole founder and shareholder.

STA director Bojan Veselinovič was thus urged by the supervisory board to call on the prime minister and government ministers as representatives of the founder to authorise the Government Communication Office (UKOM) or another government body in the event it wishes to get the relevant information.

Veselinovič has already done this, addressing a letter to the prime minister and urging him to give such authorisation so that the STA management could provide access to all the required documents in line with law. A copy of the letter was also sent to other ministers and media.

Regarding the government's proposal that the supervisors dismiss Veselinovič, Terčelj said that they had not received a formal notification from the government. The board could discuss this only after it receives the decisions and an accompanying report on implementation of STA-related legal provisions, he said.

UKOM has suspended financing of the STA public service arguing the parties have not signed a contract for this year and alleging Veselinovič's failure to provide documents.

STA, 31 March 2021 - The US Department of State has released the 2020 Human Rights international report in which it also analyses the situation in Slovenia. Attacks on media and harassment of journalists in the country feature more prominently than ever, the latter being described as one of the key human rights issues in Slovenia.

Apart from threats of violence against journalists by nongovernment actors, the other significant issue is criminalisation of libel and slander.

The report, released on Tuesday, points to statements by journalist associations which report about growing hateful rhetoric and threats against reporters online that, according to them, have been spurred by state officials' animosity.

The report notes that Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša has condemned physical assaults against journalists and any actions inciting such offences. It also says that the International Press Institute (IPI) has highlighted that online harassment of journalists has also contributed "to an increasingly hostile climate for watchdog journalism."

Going into more detail, the report mentions that at the start of the epidemic, the government's Covid-19 Crisis Headquarters "retweeted an insulting claim about investigative journalist Blaž Zgaga", which then triggered online harassment against him by pro-government media outlets.

It also mentions criticism by government officials targeting public broadcaster RTV Slovenija's reporting that was unfavourable to the government. Moreover, it highlights complaints by RTV Slovenija about "a growing number of insulting tweets and verbal attacks against the institution and its journalists by politicians". "Following these verbal attacks, RTV journalists experienced several physical attacks by nongovernment actor."

"The European Commission reported in its September rule of law report for the country that concerns have been raised by stakeholders about possible politically motivated changes to the funding of the national public broadcaster and the governance of the national press agency."

The Department of State also reports about assaults on reporters during protests, including an incident involving rapper Zlatko and pro-government media Nova24.

The report also quotes the IPI, saying "few countries in Europe have experienced such a swift downturn in press and media freedom after a new government came to power". The IPI also said that this led to "a worrying decline in press freedom in a very short space of time in a country previously considered a relative safe haven for independent journalism, sending up further warning signs about deteriorating media freedom in Central Europe".

The US authority also says that the Slovenian government attempted to justify its criticism of the media in a letter to the Council of Europe in which it wrote that the situation was a result of the media having "their origin in the former communist regime" and the consolidation of media ownership in the hands of circles close to the left. At the same time, the Department of State also mentions concerns expressed by watchdog groups over alleged financing of certain media by "sources tied to Hungary's ruling Fidesz party".

The report touches on complaints about police violence against protesters and allegations of government revenge tactics against NGOs and systemic corruption, including in the public PPE procurement.

"The government took steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the government, and there were no cases of impunity involving security forces during the year," it reads.

Another issue that features heavily in the report is discrimination against the Roma community. Government measures that aim to tackle the situation are mentioned as well though.

There were no reports of anti-Semitic violence in Slovenia in 2020, however the Department of State lists concerns by the Ljubljana Jewish Cultural Centre over the annulment of the 1946 death sentence for collaborationist general Leon Rupnik.

It also mentions requests by a number of ethnic communities in Slovenia to get minority status, including the German-speaking community. Moreover, reports by NGOs, including Amnesty International, on asylum seekers pushbacks are mentioned.

STA, 26 March 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša's appearance in front of the European Parliament's democracy monitoring group was overshadowed by a row with chair Sophie in 't Veld over a video alleging journalists are biased. After In 't Veld refused to play the video during the time allotted for his statement, Janša disconnected from the videoconference.

This was the second debate of this parliamentary sub-committee about the freedom of media in Slovenia. While being invited, Janša and Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti did not take part in the first debate, and were both scheduled to appear today.

Appearing in front of a background with a number of images depicting expressions of criticism of the government and himself, Janša said that the debate was staged for the purpose of internal political affairs because it was likely of no interest to anybody outside the country.

He said that journalists in Slovenia had been beaten to death and fired while on their deathbeds, and proposed that the group watch a video about attacks on media and journalists.

This was followed by a long exchange with In 't Veld, who did not allow the video to be shown instead of Janša delivering his statement. She said the video would be forwarded to all group members to view. Janša, on the other hand, accused her of refusing to play the video because of its content.

Simoniti was scheduled to talk after Janša, but appeared to be offline and the group started the discussion. Following a question from German MEP Katarina Barley about alleged censorship at the newspaper Delo involving an opinion piece critical of the government, Janša's connection was also lost.

Janša then tweeted a link to the video and accused In 't Veld of censorship. Several sub-committee members expressed support for her decision during the debate, expressing the position that the purpose of the session was to interact with speakers and not watch videos.

Of course any material may be submitted for consideration and #DRFMG will study it at its earliest convenience. But the European Parliament is not obliged to do streaming on demand.

— Sophie in 't Veld (@SophieintVeld) March 26, 2021

The video, as shared by Janša on Twitter, lists a series of incidents targeting journalists in Slovenia. It opens and closes with the question of who really threatens democracy and the media in Slovenia.

It wonders whether journalists were truly unbiased, providing examples of journalists-come-politicians and journalists becoming spokespersons for political parties or the government. It also lists political officials who worked in the media.

It says that a big portion of Slovenian politicians "still equate journalism with propaganda. Thus they reward this activist journalism with seats in the national or European parliament," while the rare critical media are being suppressed and persecuted.

It also accuses "the Slovenian parties on the transitional left" of blaming others and exporting fabricated accusations to the EU and of "speaking of Orbanisation".

MEP Tanja Fajon, the president of the opposition Social Democrats (SD), said on Twitter that what had happened was a "disgrace for Slovenia" and the SD labelled Janša's appearance a "farce and unbecoming of a prime minister".

On the other hand, MEP Milan Zver of Janša's Democratic Party (SDS) said on Twitter that Sophie in 't Veld "censored the Slovenian prime minister" and that such a display of disrespect had never happened in the European Parliament before.

The SDS also tweeted that the video clip was censored.

MEP Ljudmila Novak of the coalition New Slovenia retweeted her recent statement in which she says that her greatest concern was Slovenia finding itself in the group of countries reproached for violating democracy, human rights and freedom of the press.

Klemen Grošelj and Irena Joveva (Renew/LMŠ) said ahead of the debate that they were concerned about what was going on in Slovenia and that the European Commission should apply all available tools to protect media freedom in the country.

STA, 22 March 2021 - The ZRC SAZU, the Scientific and Research Centre at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, is worried at escalating attacks on the STA, urging by the Government Communication Office (UKOM) to stop threatening and financially draining the news agency. UKOM denied the allegations.

The STA is a public service which promptly, consistently and dedicatedly follows and reports on developments in Slovenia, including science and research, reads the statement in support of the STA.

It stresses that STA reports are released by many media outlets in Slovenia, especially those which cannot afford to hire enough journalists to provide for reporting on "such marginal topics like science".

The ZRC SAZU says that commercial media treat science as marginal because they do not bring many readers, viewers. listeners or clicks.

This is the reason for which science is particularly dependent on media such as the STA and the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.

In in the view of ZRC researchers, due to their relatively stable funding, such media ensure reporting on activities which are not very profitable yet key for society.

"If we allow for public media such as the STA and RTV Slovenija to be abolished, we will cause irreparable damage to the Slovenian media landscape, which is already deprived of quality media," the release reads.

"Science will thus disappear from the media's agenda moving to specialised portals and niche media. It will itself turn to be treated as a marginal pursuit, or even a hobby, of a handful of weirdos who are passing their time by wasting taxpayer money."

UKOM director Uroš Urbanija said in a press statement that he was surprised by the allegation it is stepping up its attacks on the STA or financially starving the agency. "Neither is true, UKOM has settled all of its liabilities to the STA in line with last year's contract," he said.

While not specifying why the agency has not been paid for the performance of public service this year, he says "funding for the STA has been secured," which is why messages to employees that the agency will not live to see its 30th anniversary are "unacceptable".

Overall, he reiterates UKOM's long standing positions regarding the STA director, including that he persistently refuses to hand over to the government the requested documentation.

He also denied any interference in editorial independence arguing that the government had never encroached upon it and noting that the administrative part of the agency is clearly separated from the editorial part, with any effort to link the two "an attempt at politicising the editorial staff and journalism".

The statement came after the government last week called on the STA supervisory board to dismiss the agency's director Bojan Veselinovič for his alleged violation of the agency's obligations, and as the agency has been waiting for more than 20 days for UKOM to pay the bill for the public service the STA carries out under the law.

The STA reports on science and other research and development topics as part of its regular service and has a special science portal in Slovenian and English. In 2018, the agency's science journalist Lea Udovč won an award conferred by the Slovenian Journalist Association.

STA, 18 March 2021 - The Slovenian PEN centre has urged the government to fundamentally change its attitude to the STA as well as media and journalists in general, arguing that its actions constituted an attempt at dismantling the agency and silencing a source of trustworthy information.

Expressing "deep concern" about the government's action, the Slovenian PEN said the government was ignoring the institutional independence of the STA and disrespecting its editorial independence, both of which are guaranteed by the law.

Its actions display "a conscious effort to transform Slovenia into an uninformed province in which it will be simply impossible to access objective reports about events in Slovenia and the world, except with the help of foreign media".

It said the agency's contribution was "extraordinarily important" amidst the "cacophony of fake news, politically and otherwise doctored information, hate speech and damaging disinformation that various online platforms are flooding the market with".

The statement comes after government proposed that the STA supervisory board dismiss Bojan Veselinovič as director, alleging violations in the fulfilment of the agency's legal obligations.

Veselinovič has denied all the allegations and highlighted the government decision as a "new chapter in a series of attacks on the independent STA and an attempt to replace its leadership".

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 12 March 2021. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Four liberal centrist parties should merge

STA, 12 March 2021 - Mladina says in its latest commentary that a new party would perhaps not be able to beat the ruling Democrats (SDS) in the next election and proposes instead that a party that would merge the existing four liberal centrist parties might be the answer. But this also opens up a series of questions.

The left-leaning weekly notes under the headline New Old Party that establishing a completely new party that would bet on its purity means recruitment of political novices who have never performed this complex profession.

This is what economist Jože P. Damijan, who initiated the informal Constitutional Arch Coalition (KUL), is aware of. He knows that a party that bears a person's name is able to "seriously dance for one election only."

Mladina also argues that voters have grown tired of the concept of new, "pure parties", and that, if someone other than the Social Democrats (SD) and Left wanted to seriously challenge the SDS, they would need to offer much more than 88 candidate names.

"Standing on the other side is the SDS party machine, which has a strong people and media network, and a lot of money. In 2022 (if the election is held on the scheduled date), this machine will be even stronger."

This calls for an attempt for a merger of the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and perhaps the Modern Centre Party (SMC), but this, of course, opens up many questions.

"Are Alenka Bratušek and Marjan Šarec ready to withdraw from party president posts and find a shared, powerful party leader? Is the SMC able to make a turnaround before the election and give up on the current leadership?

"Is DeSUS capable of realising that they may survive only with the merger? Are all of them together capable of finding a leader, a serious independent person?"

The four weak parties would become a strong force, and voters are actually looking for a liberal conservative political party. All these parties are advocating similar economic and political viewpoints anyway, Mladina says.

The SD and Left would also breathe more easily if liberals became what they actually are, and perhaps the moment is right. It seems that everybody in that part of the political spectrum started realising that there is not much time left.

Demokracija: EU should focus on vaccines, not Slovenian media

STA, 11 March 2021 - Demokracija says in its latest commentary that instead of dealing with vaccination, the field in which it has utterly failed, the European Commission is "saving democracy and freedom of the press" in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia. It adds that the final goal is elimination of the natural reality.

"The EU has failed an exam again. This is logical, as its priorities are elsewhere (well, the virus is not going anywhere): saving democracy and freedom of the press in Poland and Hungary and, as of recently, in Slovenia."

Under the headline Treasonous Elites, the right-wing weekly adds that displaying Slovenia as an "oasis of evil" is not a mirage, as the drive of the progressive MEPs (with help from media "experts") is a result of pure malice.

It argues that the purpose of this propaganda is to demonise the centre-right Slovenian government by means of manipulation and lies that have been circulated for years by the "independent" media.

According to Demokracija, the final objective is elimination of the natural reality, with the Slovenian, Hungarian and Polish prime ministers being the last ones who stand in the way.

"The Brussels elites want to replace it with a new world without roots. The price of globalisation is identity suicide, and elimination of sovereignty of individual countries is just a stage in the implementation of the sick objectives of the corrupt international bandits. This game is really dangerous."

The analysts who criticise the Slovenian government's attitude to the media are merely "useful idiots" who in the name of democracy, freedom and humanism participate in the destruction of everything that is traditional, the commentary concludes.

All our posts in this series are here

STA, 10 March 2021 - Addressing the EU Parliament plenary on Wednesday, EU Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova pointed to continuous attempts to undermine the sustainable funding and the independence of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA). She also noted that frequent verbal attacks against journalists in the country were cause for concern.

She listed these issues as "examples of worrying trends" that took place in recent months.

"The Commission has been in contact with the national authorities and continues to monitor the situation. And let me assure you that the Commission does not hesitate to act when there are issues of the compliance of national laws or decisions with EU rules," she told the session dedicated to a debate on media freedom in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia.

Jourova noted that media were not merely an economic sector, but "an important pillar of democracy and the rule of law", highlighting the role media freedom and pluralism played in upholding democracy.

She said that both concepts were also included in the Commission's annual rule of law report.

The report analysed the situation in all EU countries, including Hungary, Poland and Slovenia, she said, adding that problems and concerns were made very clear. The next report is expected in July.

"Each rule of law report is preceded by fact-finding visits in all EU countries, discussions with national authorities and a wide range of stakeholders," said Jourova in what might be a reference to Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša's invitation to the Commission to appoint a fact-finding mission to visit Slovenia to see the relevant situation for itself.

She also said that supporting the work of media was more important than ever given Covid-19 and an economic crisis in the sector "that started well before the pandemic", noting that there should be no political pressure on media at all regardless of the situation.

"Strong leaders are those that gain respect through their actions, that accept diversity of opinions and that allow citizens to be duly informed, not those that try to silence critical voices. In democracy, independent media should do their work and ask questions without fear or favour. Our job, as politicians, is to answer with facts, not with attacks."

Jourova also mentioned two initiatives by the Commission that will be unveiled this year: a recommendation to EU member states to improve the safety of journalists and an initiative on tackling abusive litigation. She said that "very often threats and groundless lawsuits are used to silence free media".

She acknowledged that the Commission's competences regarding media were limited though, urging efforts to determine how to "widen and strengthen the toolbox that the Commission has, from financial support, to regulation and enforcement actions".

"We will play our role. But governments also need to fulfil their obligations to ensure that media freedom is safeguarded and to enable a healthy environment for media pluralism," she said.

Several MEPs of S&D, Renew and the Greens voiced concern today over the situation of Slovenian media, particularly the STA, warning about the danger of the EU's inaction.

MEPs of the centre-right EPP did not mention Slovenia in their addresses for the most part, however Slovenian MEPs of this political group Romana Tomc (EPP/SDS) and Franc Bogovič (EPP/SLS) rejected allegations about the Slovenian government exerting pressure on Slovenian media.

Tomc reiterated Janša's invitation addressed to the Commission, highlighting that the Slovenian opposition was using today's discussion to undermine the government yet again. According to her, the government does not restrict anyone and is not abolishing the STA.

Bogovič described today's discussion as "a successful export of political bickering of Slovenian socialists and liberals into the European Parliament" that is misleading and harmful to Slovenia ahead of its EU Council presidency.

He said that media ownership issues in Slovenia were indeed real and related to the country's past, however most of the Slovenian media owners were part of the "leftist agenda".

On the other hand, Tanja Fajon (S&D/SD) listed the financial draining of the STA, attempts to put pressure on STA director Bojan Veselinovič and the case of Janša calling two critical journalists washed-up prostitutes as reasons for concern, adding that press freedom and democracy were at risk.

Irena Joveva (Renew/LMŠ) said that Slovenia was not Hungary or Poland, but was heading in that direction, noting that the EU could not afford another member in the illiberal club.

She was primarily critical of Janša and what she sees as his attempts to subjugate public media, most notably the STA, as well as the head-in-the-sand policy of his partners. Joveva told Jourova that words alone were not enough.

Dutch MEP Sophie in 't Veld (Renew/D66), head of the European Parliament's Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group, which held a discussion on the situation of Slovenian media last Friday, said that verbal attacks on journalists were not harmless and could even lead to murder, as seen "in Malta and Slovakia where the murders were preceded by endless verbal attacks by political leaders".

"I'm very worried to see now that in the Slovenian government they are taking on the same habits of attacking journalists and that not only has a chilling effect on the freedom of media and freedom of expression but it actually gives people almost literally a licence to kill, it adds to a climate of hatred."

She expressed hope that the Commission will make sure that such practices do not run off track as they have in Hungary and Poland, "where we can say that the media are no longer free and therefore they [the countries] are no longer complete democracies".

Wrapping up the debate, Jourova said that the EU should step up its efforts and be very vigilant across the bloc when it comes to a potential turn-off of democratic safeguards, including media freedom and an independent justice system.

Due to quite visible alarming trends, this marks the first time "the Commission is devoting so much effort and energy to the media sector". Jourova is considering new stepped-up measures and tools to protect media freedom.

STA, 9 March 2021 - A European Parliament policy department service compiled an in-depth document on the situation in Slovenia in preparation for Friday's session of the Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group. The document, which is for internal use only, also details Prime Minister Janez Janša's attacks on media.

"The government's relations with the media are very tense, with the prime minister directly attacking media and individual journalists, notably by Twitter," reads the document, prepared by the service of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

The 33-page document describes the developments in Slovenia mainly in the past year. With respect to media, it lists a long list of concerns in relation to media freedom and protection of journalists.

It notes attacks and threats, smear campaigns, prosecution of journalists and media, political and business pressures including by blocking public funds, which it says are leading to self-censorship.

The document also includes a table of attacks by the prime minister and other government representatives with hateful language against journalists and media.

"This behaviour is uncommon for leaders of European democratic states based on the rule of law and fundamental rights and respectful of the European values," reads the document.

It adds that persons in important governmental roles and representing a whole community and country are expected to strive to unite them by fostering dialogue and consensus, at all levels.

Direct and personal attacks by those in power, including by inciting others to do the same, as well as blocking or threatening to block funds for media, can be interpreted an abuse of a position of power aimed at intimidating and silencing them by exerting a chilling effect based on fear, it says.

The document also notes political influencing through media owners and the financing of Slovenian media by Hungarian companies affiliated with the ruling Fidesz party and Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

It says that Nova24TV was initially financed by members and supporters of the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) but was later recapitalised by Hungarian companies, noting that Nova24TV generated a loss of over EUR 1 million in its first two years of activity, which suggested Hungarian media businessmen enabled the continued existence of the channel.

The document also writes about government officials' attacks on representatives of the judiciary and notes replacements in senior positions in the country's police, armed forces, statistics office and intelligence agency. "It was the first time that such dismissals happened without stating a cause," it reads.

The document furthermore notes pressure faced by NGOs, replacements in the leaderships of museums and procedures against government members, as well as anti-government protests and the fines faced by the protesters.

The European Parliament will discuss threats to media freedom in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia on Wednesday.

All out stories on media freedom and Slovenia

STA, 9 March 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša called on the director of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Bojan Veselinovič, to step down. "It is time for the director as a political tool of the extreme left to step down and take responsibility for his unlawful actions. And allow the STA to work and develop normally," Janša wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

The STA turned to the prime minister's office for explanation about which unlawful actions Janša was referring to. In response, the office said it would not comment additionally on the issue.

The prime minister also said in the tweet that since the STA had been led by Veselinovič, "journalists with fatal disease are being dismissed and lie is often being sold as the truth".

Odkar @STA_novice vodi direktor Veselinović, odpuščajo na smrt bolne novinarje in pogosto laž prodajajo za resnico. Čas je, da direktor kot politično orodje skrajne levice odstopi in odgovarja za svoja nezakonita ravnanja. Ter omogoči STA normalno delo in razvoj. https://t.co/cOHiFddUiG

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) March 9, 2021

Ever since @STA_novice are led by director Veselinović, they fire sick journalists and often sell lies for the truth. It is time for the director, as a political tool of the far left, to step down and be held accountable for his illegal actions. And enable STA normal work. https://t.co/1tS8qNNHWZ

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) March 9, 2021

Janša made the statements while sharing a tweet by the head of the Government Communication Office (UKOM), Uroš Urbanija, who tweeted that Veselinovič was lying when he told the TV show Tednik on Monday that the STA did not wish to respond to UKOM's inquiries about the length of news articles.

The government said on Twitter this was "fake news".

In response, the STA published a letter by Urbanija today, sent last October, in which Urbanija asks how many interviews with pop singers had the STA published, and how long they were.

He also inquired about how the STA guaranteed that statements written by someone at the agency were being objectively reported on, whether the opinion of every employee of the agency had been obtained before one such statement, and why the STA had not published an article about this.

The letter by Urbanija came a few days after the prime minister labelled the STA a national disgrace on Twitter after learning that an interview with rapper Zlatko published by the STA was longer than the agency's article about an event featuring Janša and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban.

Urbanija also accused Veselinovič once again of concealing documents.

"Without arguments and proof the prime minister can obviously afford anything. Even abjectly abusing the deceased by means of untruthful statements that have been denied publicly on several occasions," Veselinovič said in response.

He said the comments made by Janša were unworthy of the prime minister of a country that will preside the Council of EU and celebrate its 30th anniversary this year.

The STA management has said several times that all the documents are available to the government as the legal representative of the sole shareholder of the agency. The government has not requested the documents but the UKOM has, providing no government authorisation for acting on its behalf.

The Trade Union of Slovenian Journalists denounced Janša's call for Veselinovič's resignation as unauthorised and unlawful interference in the editorial autonomy of a public information service.

The trade union added that the prime minister was also persisting in violating the legislator's clearly expressed and enacted will to provide uninterrupted financing to the STA to allow it to inform citizens in an unbiased and independent way.

The union expressed its support for the STA staff and management, urging the state again to honour its financing obligations, and the prime minister to stop stepping up uncertainty for "distinctly short-term political purposes".

The STA's operations are at risk after the financing of the public service has again been suspended in 2021 despite the provisions of the seventh coronavirus relief act, which says the STA must be funded in line with its business plan regardless of the signing of a special contract on the public services.

The STA requested for the contract to be signed at the end of 2020 but has not received a reply.

The STA receives about EUR 2 million for its public services from the state a year, which is almost half of the agency's annual revenue.

All our stories on media freedom and Slovenia

STA, 6 March 2021 - Media developments in Slovenia are being monitored by the US administration, which has noted in this respect that freedom of the press is a fundamental principal of democracy.

Asked by the STA about whether they follow the media developments in Slovenia, the US Department of State said the Department and the Embassy in Ljubljana were monitoring threats against journalists and the integrity of public media in Slovenia closely.

Freedom of the press is a fundamental principal of democracy, and the United States looks forward to continuing to partner with Slovenia to promote the open exchange of ideas and information essential for accountable governance around the world, the Department of State added in its comment.

The New York Times reported on developments in Slovenia in January, describing Prime Minister Janez Janša as a nationalist politician who has been compared to former US President Donald Trump.

"Mr. Janša has long been known for attacking opponents online, including news media he considers biased, as well as for opposing immigration. But since his return to power, another issue beloved of populists has become a focus: culture," the New York Times wrote in an article focusing on replacements of museum directors.

Janša endorsed Trump ahead of the EU presidential election last year, tweeting that Joseph Biden "would be one of the weakest US presidents" should he win. A day after the 3 November election, when vote count was under way, Janša tweeted it was "pretty clear that American people have elected Donald Trump". Janša congratulated Biden after he was inaugurated as president.

Media freedom in Slovenia will be discussed at the plenary session of the European Parliament next week.