EPP mission in Slovenia on the state of the rule of law

Ljubljana – A mission from the political group of the European People’s Party (EPP) visited Slovenia, interested in the state of the rule of law. The President of the Slovenian National Assembly, Urška Klakočar Zupančič, and representatives of the ruling coalition did not respond to the invitation for a meeting with the mission, which surprised EPP members.

The aim of the mission was to gain firsthand knowledge of the situation in Slovenia, and among its members were, in addition to Swedish MEP and Vice-President of the EPP political group Tomasa Tobeja, Slovenian MEP Romana Tomc (EPP/SDS), Spaniard Raul de la Hoz Quintano, German Lena Düpont, and Pole Michal Wawrykiewicz.

Tobe explained at a press conference at the EU House that they were interested in why there had been more than a hundred extraordinary sessions in this parliamentary term. He stated that they had spoken with the Vice-President of the National Assembly, but he would also like to discuss this with the President of the Parliament, Klakočar Zupančič, who did not respond to the invitation.

According to Tomc, the reactions from the opposing side to the mission indicate that the delegation is important and that they fear it. “The very fact that some who had the opportunity to speak declined our meeting speaks for itself,” said the Slovenian MEP and Vice-President of the EPP group.

Tobe emphasized that the mission in Slovenia is due to the rule of law, which he takes very seriously. It is important that we have the same standards for everyone in the EU, regardless of who governs in each member state, he said.

He expressed hope that they would address some of their concerns and obvious issues in Slovenia, and an expectation that all recommendations from the European Commission’s report on the rule of law would be implemented without delay. “For us, this is the beginning,” Tobe further emphasized about the mission in Slovenia. What the next steps will be, he said, is too early to say. (April 7)