Ljubljana related
STA, 28 August 2020 - The merger of Dnevnik and Večer, the publishers of the third and fourth largest daily newspapers in Slovenia, respectively, as per 2019 data, has come to a halt, Dnevnik's owner Bojan Petan of publisher DZS and Večer's co-owner Uroš Hakl have confirmed.
Petan implied at Dnevnik's general assembly on Thursday that there were disagreements over ownership, whereas Hakl told the STA today that the reasons for putting the merger on hold were a matter of business.
According to Kristjan Verbič, the president of the VZMD association of small shareholders, Petan explained the situation in more detail at the meeting.
After the Competition Protection Agency (AVK) gave a green light for the merger in July 2019, the necessary proceedings were meant to be launched. Petan said at the time that the go-ahead was only the beginning of long-lasting and legally complex procedures though.
The break-up operation of the limited company Dnevnik was envisaged, pending a nod from its supervisors and stakeholders, said Verbič.
Newspaper Dnevnik would be turned into a subsidiary which would merge with Večer. Other Dnevnik editions would remain under the core company, which would not participate in the merger. Both newspapers were meant to continue being published as separate papers.
Petan, Dnevnik chairman, announced a meeting which would address the issue after the AVK green light, but such a discussion has not yet taken place. The merger was supposed to be finished by now though.
As quoted by Verbič, Petan explained on Thursday that the procedures got complicated after an independent value estimate of newspapers Dnevnik and Večer was requested. The estimate showed that Večer was worth some EUR 100,000 more than Dnevnik.
According to a previous agreement the companies would share ownership of the new entity called DV Mediji and Petan suggested Dnevnik contributed additional EUR 100,000. However, out of reasons unknown to him, Večer no longer agreed to that or to shared ownership and wanted a stronger share, said Verbič.
Petan told Dnevnik stakeholders on Thursday that the situation could be only the other way around since Dnevnik had been recording good results and had seen only a 2-3% drop in revenue.
He also highlighted that the AVK go-ahead remained, implying that the story could get an ending.
Rumours about the deal breakdown have been circulating, however Hakl has been denying any claims about that. Today, he was reticent about the situation, only saying that the procedure was put on ice.
Hakl later spoke to the STA to reject the allegation that the disagreements over ownership were the reason, saying instead that the true reason was an unrealistic appraisal of Dnevnik made on the basis of five-year business projections.
He said that these were made based on unrealistic costs of print and projections that revenue from advertisement marketing would grow by 10% a year.
"There is no media house globally which is capable of growing by 10% annually in advertisement marketing, let alone Dnevnik, which has recorded a noticeable trend of decreasing revenue from advertising," he was critical.
Hakl said he had no resentment and that Večer still thought that a merger made sense business-wise and that it would be a smart decision for the survival of both newspapers, "but in a professionally appropriate way".
The Maribor-based Večer, controlled by the no. 1 publisher Delo until 2014 when it was sold to entrepreneurs Hakl and Sašo Todorovič due to anti-trust concerns, has a circulation of about 19,000, according to 2019 data, and a strong subscriber base in the north-east of the country, while Dnevnik has a circulation of 21,000 and is considered more a central Slovenian or Ljubljana-based paper.
STA, 15 July 2020 - Several hundred journalists and media workers gathered on Wednesday to protest against a media reform planned by the government in front of the National Assembly, where the parliamentary Culture Committee is discussing the proposed changes to three media laws.
Convinced the reform would undermine the Slovenian public media's financial stability and independence, the protesters urged the independence and freedom of the media in their addresses as well as with banners and shouts.
In an 30-minute protest, addresses were delivered by representatives of the Slovenian Journalist Association (DNS) as well as by journalists and media workers from the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), other media outlets and journalist trade unions.
The bulk of the criticism was directed at the proposal to redistribute RTV Slovenija's licence fee among RTV Slovenija (92%) and the STA (3%) and allocate 5% to promote media plurality.
Nekaj utrinkov s shoda pred državnim zborom, na katerem so novinarji pozvali k neodvisnosti medijev.
— STAkrog (@STAkrog) July 15, 2020
Več na: https://t.co/n8J8tihSGv
@društvonovinar @RTV_Slovenija @rtvslo @STA_novice pic.twitter.com/uZo60A9d3u
The proposal to transfer the appointment of STA supervisors from parliament to the government was severely criticised as well.
"Responsible journalism must always advocate and defend the foundations of democracy in all fields of society ... we must never allow for media freedom to be undermined," said DNS head Petra Lesjak Tušek, a newspaper Večer journalist and editor.
She said the journalist profession and the entire media industry in Slovenia were being devalued, whereas many European countries understand, especially during the coronavirus crisis, that "support for media is part of the solution" rather than a problem, she said.
In a statement read on behalf of STA journalists and editors, Mojca Zorko, home desk editor, wondered who is bothered by the existing provision that the STA must not become - de fact or de iure - dependent on any ideological, political or economic grouping.
"And who would welcome changing the STA leadership every year and a half, which is the average term of Slovenian governments in the past 10 years.
"And why would anyone want to reduce the staff's influence on the appointment of editor-in-chief. The answer is clear and the consequences as well: to destabilise and discredit the STA," Zorko said, stressing the proposed changes were a major step back in providing for the STA's autonomy and independence.
TV Slovenija journalist Miša Molk said the planned cuts in RTV Slovenija's funding entailed killing the public service and politics invading the people's right to information.
The Trade Union of Journalists criticised the government's attempt to interfere in public media and urged the Culture Ministry, which is in charge of media policy, to withdraw the planned changes to the three laws.
The amendments to the media, RTV Slovenija and STA laws have been met with much criticism at home and abroad for the changes they would bring and for a mere week-long public consultation period that was initially envisaged, but prolonged yesterday.
Today's session of the parliamentary committee was demanded by the four left-leaning opposition parties, which argued they were worried about the media reports about the changes to the RTV law which were being drafted by the Culture Ministry in haste and in secret.
All our stories on the media in Slovenia are here
— Luka Goršek (@GorsekLuka) July 15, 2020
STA, 14 July 2020 - The Association of Journalists and Commentators (ZNP) has expressed support for the government-sponsored changes to the media legislation, including a planned distribution of the public broadcaster subscription among other media and the change of STA supervisory board appointment powers from the National Assembly to the government.
Related: Slovenian Press Agency Concerned About Changes to Media Law
The ZNP, the smaller of two national associations of journalists, said in a press release on Tuesday it did not matter whether the supervisors of the STA were appointed by the government or the National Assembly. It believes the changes should also limit the supervisors and the general manager to two terms.
Under the current legislation, the supervisory board is appointed by the National Assembly with an absolute majority. The supervisors, in turn, appoint a general manager in a call for applications.
The ZNP believes the changes should also include provisions under which the government or the National Assembly would not be able to dismiss supervisors before the end of their terms, barring extraordinary circumstances.
It also supports the proposal to distribute 3% of the RTV Slovenija subscription fee to the STA and 5% to other media. RTV Slovenija, on the other hand, would make up for the loss by scrapping its advertisement limitations, under the changes.
The association believes this would force RTV Slovenija to become more commercially-oriented. However, advertising should still remain limited to a certain extent so as to prevent the broadcaster becoming too commercial.
It says that the STA would get more funds under the proposed funding model and could "focus better on its basic mission, which is to inform the public about important topics".
The STA is currently forced to get a large share of the funds need commercially, which the ZNP says eroded its basic task. Moreover, more funds would also mean more money for salaries, which have remained virtually unchanged in the past decade.
The ZNP also support the idea that 5% of the RTV Slovenija subscription fee go to other media for performing public interest services, as it does not matter whether the funds come from the budget of the subscription fee, both being public funds.
The association did say, however, that tax relief measures would have been better than subsidies for the media.
The association has also welcomed the changes to the correction rules, under which media would only be obligated to run a correction if it meant a correction of a false statement and not if somebody simply wanted to add a comment, which is possible under the current legislation.
European Broadcasting Union calls for more discussion before changes
STA, 14 July 2020 - The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), an alliance of public service media organisations, has addressed a letter to the Slovenian authorities expressing concern over the future of Slovenian public service media. It urged the government to enable proper time for discussion on the proposed media reform in line with EU standards.
The letter, addressed to the Slovenian government, parliament, Culture Ministry and relevant parliamentary committee, points out that public broadcaster RTV Slovenija "has been exposed to a series of hostile and frequently unsubstantiated comments over the last months".
The EBU is also concerned over "the exceptionally short time envisaged for public debate on potential changes to the legal and financial frameworks of Slovenia's national public media".
The alliance goes on to highlight that the broadcaster plays a vital role in society and continued to play it during the Covid-19 crisis.
RTV Slovenija remit "requires adequate, stable, and predictable funding to serve all segments of society and offer programmes for all groups and minorities with a high level of commitment and professionalism," says the EBU, highlighting that the proposed changes to the act governing the broadcaster would also result in a budget cut of EUR 13 million.
"This significant change requires appropriate debate with all relevant stakeholders, in line with common democratic practice in Europe."
The alliance notes that RTV Slovenija licence fee has been "unchanged since 2012, whereas content and quality demands have constantly increased in a fast-developing economic, social and technological environment".
The EBU urges the relevant authorities to provide proper time for discussing the proposed media reform as well as allow for appropriate debate on public media's role in society and the resources needed to fulfil their remit.
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) joined the EBU's warnings and calls saying that they were most concerned over the proposed changes to the funding of public service media in Slovenia and the extremely short period of five days for public discussion.
EFJ director Renate Schroeder said in a joint statement of all the three organisations that RTV Slovenija's independence would be at great risk if the changes were implemented without any further amendments. The Covid-19 pandemic has once again highlighted the key role of public media, she added.
SEEMO secretary general Oliver Vujović pointed out that in these challenging times, a well-funded, independent and strong Slovenian public broadcaster was needed more than ever. "We need an open public discussion according to international standards, and all important stakeholders who may be affected by the change should have their say in the process."
Last Thursday, the ministry unveiled a media reform blueprint involving extensive changes to the media act, the act on RTV Slovenija and the act on the Slovenian Press Agency (STA). The changes are subject to public debate until Wednesday.
The amendments as well as the short time provided for public consultation have triggered strong criticism, including from the Journalists' Association (DNS), trade unions representing the workers of RTV Slovenija, the STA management and staff, and the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA).
STA, 13 July 2020 - The STA (Slovenska tiskovna agencija) editorial board has expressed concern with the changes planned by the government to Slovenia's media legislation. Changes to three media-related laws would not only change the STA's funding and give the government more influence on management appointments, but also divide the public broadcaster licence fee among other media outlets.
The STA's editorial board says in a statement addressing the public in Slovenia, as well as abroad, that the changes planned to the three main media-related laws are an attempt to push political interests into a field where they have no place.
"Handing appointments back into the hands of the government would be a massive setback for the autonomy and independence of the STA," the editorial board says as regards the changes planned for the 2011 law on the STA.
Currently, the agency's supervisors are appointed by the National Assembly with an absolute majority, and they in turn appoint the general manager through an open call for application.
"This guarantees that a plurality of interests are represented in the process. The proposed changes, however, open the doors to attempts at direct influence on editorial policy at each change of government, destabilising editorial policy.
"It is notable that Slovenia has had six different governments since the Slovenian Press Agency Act took effect in 2011, but the agency has remained stable, following a clearly outlined editorial policy and development course."
The editorial board also says that the legislative changes would constitute a significant interference in the public funding of the STA and in its governance. "The STA would no longer be funded directly from the budget, a source that has come to represent an decreasing share of its total funding, but would receive a part of the RTV Slovenija licence fee."
"The existing legislation ensures full transparency of operations and finances, with the agency's annual business reports having faced no criticism in either chamber of parliament ever since the law took effect," the board notes.
It also expresses concern about "interferences planned in media legislation in general, above all in independent public services, which includes the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija" as regards the changes planned to the acts on RTV Slovenija and on the media in general.
"Subordination of the media to the politicians currently in power ... is a clear cause for alarm in 21st-century Europe, especially considering scenarios that have already played out in other countries."
The STA editorial board also says that the agency had not been informed about the changes nor involved in the process any other way. "Neither was the broader public, while the government decided to limit the public consultation period to only five working days."
The statement also notes that under the changes, the law would no longer state that the agency must not, under any circumstances, be affected by influences and views that would compromise the accuracy and integrity of its reporting.
If the state in its capacity of the owner of the STA and of RTV Slovenija wanted to ensure long-term stability of STA's operation and help other media, it should increase budget funding for the public service, and help other media with fiscal policy measures and solutions put in place in other countries, the statement also says.
In the afternoon, the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) addressed a letter to President Borut Pahor, Prime Minister Janez Janša and Speaker Igor Zorčič, recommending that Slovenia "refrain from the plans to change the STA's governing legal framework," adding that these could have severe consequences for the reputation and the business of the STA.
"The STA has been a member of EANA for many years now, and its independence as an organisation of Slovenia's national news infrastructure has always been undoubted. The now planned changes could alter that perception fundamentally."
Signed by EANA president and CEO of the German press agency DPA Peter Kropsch and EANA Secretary General Alexandru Giboi, the letter also underlines that "independence from any third party influence is a cornerstone of the reputation of the news agency. The degree of independence is strongly related to its acceptance as a source of unbiased news within the international media scene."
STA, 10 July 2020 - The Culture Ministry published on Thursday proposals for extensive changes to the media act, the act on public broadcaster RTV Slovenija (RTVS) and the act on the Slovenian Press Agency (STA). The changes, which reportedly include a EUR 13 million cut for RTVS, will be subject to public debate until 15 July.
In line with the proposal affecting RTVS, 3% of the funds it collects in a year through the compulsory licence fee, presently at EUR 12.75 per household, would go to the STA and 5% to other media or what is described as the fulfilling of public interest in the media.
It is also envisaged that the public broadcaster lose revenue from its transmitting business, which would be transferred onto a new fully state-owned company. RTVS has assessed the total cuts at EUR 13 million a year.
The lost income is meant to be compensated with laxer restrictions on advertising, while changes to the media act, "aiming to enable more competitive conditions on the market" also speak of the relaxation of certain programme responsibilities.
The media act moreover received and expanded definition of public interest to include the notion of plurality, which is further elaborated as ownership plurality, world view plurality, and "media offer" plurality that involves things like genre and geographical diversity.
The proposal additionally explicitly mentions the role of courts when it comes to provisions prohibiting the incitement of national, racial, sexual, ideological or other forms of hatred and intolerance. Also, the right to demand a correction of a report is redefined as the right to secure a correction.
The changes moreover affect Slovenian music quotas, envisaging that Slovenian music must account for at least 20% of all music aired on radio or TV during daytime hours.
Meanwhile, key novelties in the act on the STA include provisions governing the appointment of supervisors and the dismissal of the STA director.
Under the proposal, new supervisors - presently appointed by parliament - could be appointed by the government within 15 days after the implementation of the act. The reasoning provided is that the STA, although state-owned and partially state-funded, is a limited liability company and that companies act rules should apply.
"This also secures more consistent responsibility for the management and operations," the proposal says, while newly listing among the reasons for the dismissal of the director a no-confidence vote by the majority of supervisors and "the inability to lead the STA".
Moreover, the article of the STA act talking about the principles of independence and impartiality would no longer contain the part stating that the STA must not become dependent - de facto, or legally - on any ideological, political or economic grouping.
While Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti started presenting the changes to deputy groups last week, the first public reactions have highlighted the short time being provided for public debate given the extent of the changes.
The head of the junior coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), Aleksandra Pivec, said on Thursday that the party had not yet studied the proposal and that the party's leadership and MPs would discuss it next week.
The head of the opposition Left, Luka Mesec, wrote that the government was out to "replace the leadership of the STA, starve out RTV Slovenija and establish some kind of media fund that would feed TV stations like Nova24", which is associated with the senior coalition Democrats (SDS).
Mesec added the changes said a lot about the priorities of the government, which is not focusing on healthcare but on "staffing at state-owned companies, machinations at the police force and the usurpation of public media". "Thus, defending the media is crucial if we want to defend democracy in Slovenia," the Left wrote.
The Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) responded by inviting fellow opposition parties to sign a demand for an emergency session of the parliamentary Culture Committee and the session has already been called for 15 July.
Coalition partners that have commented so far, mostly commented on Wednesday on the proposed changes to the act on RTVS. The SDS said it supported the idea to distribute part of the RTVS licence fee to other media, while the Modern Centre Party (SMC) warned the Culture Ministry that attention should be paid to securing greater independence of the public broadcaster. New Slovenia (NSi) has not commented yet.
Meanwhile, Faculty of Social Sciences professor Marko Milosavljević was critical of the public debate only being given six days, telling the paper Večer that the Culture Ministry should also be interested in having well written laws.
Milosavljević welcomed the fact that some of the solutions put forward by previous teams at the Culture Ministry had been taken into account, for instance that decision making on concentration of media ownership, aimed at prohibiting concentrations that would run contrary to public interest, is being transferred to the Competition Protection Agency.
STA, 8 July 2020 - The Culture Ministry is not preparing only changes to the RTV Slovenija act but a media reform that would bring changes to the media act, the act on the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) and the act on audio-visual media services, the newspaper Delo reported on Wednesday.
The changes to the act on the STA would change the appointment procedure for supervisors and for dismissing the STA director. Under the proposal - the new supervisors would be appointed by the government within 15 days since the implementation of the act - the rules of the companies act would apply for appointments and dismissals at the STA.
The Culture Ministry thus proposes that the government and no longer the National Assembly appoint four supervisors, while one would be elected by the workers.
The STA director could be dismissed before the end of the term if a majority of the supervisory board decided so.
The changes to the media act would extend the status of special importance also to printed and on-line media which serve the public interest, so they too would be financed from a part of the RTV Slovenija licence fee.
Distributing a part of the licence fee to some other media is envisaged by the changes to the RTVS act. According to media reports, the draft changes envisage allocating 3% of the money to finance the STA and 5% to "implement public interest". RTV Slovenija would also have free access to STA contents.
But the public broadcaster would lose its transmitting business, which would be transferred onto a new fully state-owned company. The ministry would on the other hand mitigate advertising restrictions for RTV Slovenija.
A fund would be set up to finance Slovenian TV production. Led by the Culture Ministry, it would be financed by operators. Eligible to its funds would be TV broadcasters that have the status of a non-profit media outlet of special importance and reach at least 0.3% of viewers per month on average or are available for free via DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial).
Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti started presenting the planned changes to coalition partners last week, but no public presentation was held yet as the ministry says changes to the draft proposal are still possible.
STA, 7 July 2020 - National telco Telekom Slovenije signed a contract on Tuesday with Hungarian media company TV2 Media selling Planet TV, its subsidiary which produces the eponymous TV channel. TV2 Media will pay EUR 5 million for the 100% share, Telekom said in a press release. The deal is expected to be finalised by autumn.
Today's development confirms the previous media reports on the sale and the value of the deal.
Telekom's supervisors have already given the green light while all the other approvals are expected by the end of September.
TV2 Media is owned by Jozsef Vida, whom media associate with the business network of the Hungarian ruling party Fidesz. Speculation that TV2 is eyeing Planet TV started in early June, when reports also mentioned Croatian entrepreneur Ivan Ćaleta as a second candidate.
The news portal Necenzurirano.si also reported about unofficial plans to merge Planet TV and Nova24TV, the news portal and website associated with the ruling Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and also in the ownership of Hungarian individuals reportedly close to Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban.
Telekom launched Planet TV in 2012 under the then SDS-led Janez Janša government. It was reported that the telecoms incumbent had been looking for a strategic partner which would buy a 49% share in the TV production company already at the beginning of January, only to change its mind later on.
According to the newspaper Delo, Planet TV has cost Telekom Slovenije EUR 80 million in the form of capital injections, advertisements, loans and other services since it was launched in September 2012, and has operated in the red.
The latest blow was the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce ordering Telekom last year to pay a EUR 23 million buyout to Antenna Group, the Greek partner who wanted out of the joint venture.
Telekom, which thus became the sole owner of Planet TV, saw the buyout significantly reduce its profit last year, which reached a mere EUR 1.2 million.
After initially announcing the search for a strategic partner, Telekom said in mid-March that selling the outright stake in Planet TV was also an option.
According to Necenzurirano.si, some supervisors expressed great reservations about the sale at today's session. They argued they had been presented only the Hungarian bid, which was picked as the best by the Telekom management and a financial consultant.
Several bids had reportedly arrived, with the second and third best bidders allegedly offering only one euro for the company.
Unlike the other bidders, the Hungarians reportedly received an assurance from Telekom that it would continue to advertise on Planet TV. Telekom reportedly also pledged to turn EUR 30 million in loans into Planet TV's capital before the sale is completed.
Telekom also allegedly plans to write off some EUR 3 million in business claims and contribute another million to help keep Planet TV afloat.
The portal also says that Hungarians could extend the sales procedure until the end of the year, but in that case Telekom would have to transfer another EUR 2 million to cover Planet TV's loss.
All our stories on Slovenia and Hungary are here
STA, 30 June 2020 - The state-owned telecoms company Telekom Slovenije has reportedly sold its troubled subsidiary Planet TV to the Hungarian free-to-air channel TV2, owned by Jozsef Vida, whom media associate with the business network of the Hungarian ruling party Fidesz.
The unofficial news was broken on Tuesday by the editor of the news portal Požareport, Bojan Požar, who wrote that Planet TV, which produces the eponymous TV channel, has been sold for EUR 5 million, with the transaction still outstanding.
Telekom Slovenije, which launched Planet TV in 2012 under the then Janez Janša government, has not confirmed or denied the report.
Speculation that Hungary's TV2 was eyeing Planet TV started in early June, when reports also mentioned Croatian entrepreneur Ivan Ćaleta as a second candidate.
It was reported that the telecoms incumbent had been looking for a strategic partner which would buy a 49% share in the TV production company already at the beginning of January, only to change its mind later on.
According to the newspaper Delo, Planet TV has cost Telekom Slovenije EUR 80 million in the form of capital injections, advertisements, loans and other services since it was launched in September 2012, and has operated in the red all the time.
The latest blow was the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce ordering Telekom last year to pay a EUR 23 million buyout to Antenna Group, the Greek partner who wanted out of the joint venture.
The telco, which thus became the sole owner of Planet TV, saw the buyout significantly reduce its profit last year, which reached a mere EUR 1.2 million.
After initially announcing the search for a strategic partner, Telekom Slovenije said in mid-March that selling the outright stake in Planet TV was also an option.
Planet TV was established by Telekom Slovenije at the time of Janša's 2012-13 government. Telekom also owns news web portal Siol.net, which got a new editor-in-chief after Janša became PM again in March.
Hungarian ownership is meanwhile presently involved in two Slovenian media outlets associated with Janša's Democrats (SDS) - the weekly paper Demokracija and the NovaTV web portal and TV channel.
Al our stories on Slovenia and Hungary
STA, 26 May 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša announced potential changes to tax legislation and media funding as he gave a weekly interview with Nova24TV, a broadcaster he has co-founded, on Monday evening. The group advising the government led by tax expert Ivan Simič will examine the possibilities for changes to the tax policy, he said.
"But some fast tax cuts could not be expected in this situation," he said, noting that due to the financial crisis ten years ago, the VAT had been raised.
He would also support an idea for every taxpayer to be able to earmark more than the current 0.5% of their income tax to an organisation to their liking.
"We'll be looking for a solution in this direction. First proposals can be expected by the end of the year," he announced.
Asked what the government could do about the compulsory payment of licence fee for public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, Janša said the Culture Ministry is already "working on some legislative changes".
"The least that could be done is distribute this enormous amount of money in a more just way."
He indicated that the public broadcaster could do "a much better job with considerably less money".
Janša also commented on a controversy about the police having accessed personal data of coalition politicians under the Marjan Šarec government to discredit them.
He said somebody had accessed the personal data of then leader of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) Karl Erjavec and of Modern Centre Party (SMC) leader Zdravko Počivalšek.
.@JJansaSDS Razpihovanje sovraštva je nevarno in običajno izbruhne takrat, ko se nekateri ustrašijo izgube svojih privilegijev. Ideološko sovraštvo seje peščica ljudi, ki hujska in ščuva ter ima veliko podporo v osrednjih medijih. @Nova24TV pic.twitter.com/iOcrMivslD
— SDS (@strankaSDS) May 26, 2020
The order came from the then interior minister, said Janša, announcing that "it will be checked what had actually happened".
Boštjan Poklukar from the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), which led the government, was interior minister at the time.
Janša also discussed the previous government's action or inaction in taking the necessary measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
He said he would release his correspondence with former Health Minster Aleš Šabeder when the time came and if Šabeder agreed to it, indicating former Prime Minister Marjan Šarec had prevented the minister from taking action faster.
"So that people see what was going on and what the former prime minister was actually doing when he should have acted responsibly and take certain measures," Janša said.
Responding to the statement for TV Slovenija on Tuesday, Šarec's LMŠ labelled it fake news and Šabeder toned it down, with the public broadcaster saying he did not want to meddle in the Janša-Šarec dispute.
"We see the claim that Marjan Šarec tried to prevent anything to the former health minister as yet another case of fake news by Janez Janša and Nova24," the LMŠ wrote.
Šabeder meanwhile wrote it had been necessary and fair to promptly brief the new government, which was taking over during such an emergency, on the number of infected persons and on other vital developments and to coordinate the measures.
"This is also the main content of these messages," said Šabeder, adding that the situation had been very much war-like. He also said it had become clear that his team at the ministry had worked in the right direction, while the situation had been changing from minute to minute.
STA, 21 May 2020 - After the Supreme Court quashed a guilty ruling in a defamation case brought against PM Janez Janša by a journalist over an insulting tweet, the Celje Higher Court has rejected Janša's appeal in a separate case filed against him by the other journalist mentioned in the controversial tweet.
The Celje Court has rejected Janša's appeal in the defamation case brought against him by RTV Slovenija journalist Evgenija Carl in which he was ordered to pay EUR 6,000 in damages for calling her a "washed-up prostitute" on Twitter.
The court thus upheld a previous ruling by the Velenje Local Court, and ordered Janša to also pay for the legal costs in the amount of EUR 513.
Carl brought the defamation suit over Janša's Twitter post in March 2016 reading "the FB page of the public house is offering cheap services by washed up prostitutes Evgenija C. and Mojca P.Š. One for 30 euros, the other for 35. #PimpMilan".
Na neki FB strani javne hiše ponujajo poceni usluge odsluženih prostitutk Evgenije C im Mojce PŠ. Eno za 30€, drugo za 35€. #ZvodnikMilan.
— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) March 21, 2016
The Celje Higher Court said that Carl was not a prostitute but a respectable and professional journalist with a long career in journalism. The tweet affected her very much and caused her emotional pain.
It added that Carl was well known for her moral traits and professionalism and therefore a respectable person, which was why the EUR 6,000 in damages was an appropriate financial compensation for her emotional pain.
The other journalist mentioned in the tweet, Mojca Šetinc Pašek, a journalist and editor with TV Slovenija, also sued Janša and both journalists brought criminal charges against him.
But at the beginning of the month, the Supreme Court quashed a ruling that ordered Janša to pay EUR 6,000 to Šetinc Pašek, arguing that like Janša, she was a public figure, for whom "the boundaries of permissible criticism are broader than with private persons".
Šetinc Pašek described the judgement as "outright scandalous", and announced she would take her case to the Constitutional Court.
In the criminal procedure Janša was sentenced to a three-month suspended sentence by the Celje District Court in November 2018, but the Celje Higher Court ordered a retrial last year.
