“Slovenia is not a colony!” The country's prime minister staged a riot against the EU leadership
Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša refused to meet with a European Parliament delegation examining violations of media rights and government interference in the work of courts in that country.
Instead, Janša lashed out at the inspectors on Twitter, angering leading EU officials.
The delegation, which monitors the state of rights and freedoms in Slovenia (in particular the suppression of media freedom and state interference in the work of the judicial system), is led by Dutch MP Sophie Int Veld from the Liberal Group (Renew Europe). Since the head of the country's government flatly refused to meet with European deputies, one of the members of the parliamentary group publicly called him a coward.
In response, Janša went after the guests on his Twitter, calling the commission members “Soros puppets.” To this, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the statement of his Slovenian colleague a “tasteless tweet” and threatened that he would make an official statement after delivering a note to the Slovenian Ambassador to the Netherlands San Stiglic, who had already been summoned to give an explanation.
Janša, meanwhile, deleted the tweet for which he was accused of anti-Semitism, citing Soros's ethnic origin, but responded to Rutte that "accusations of violations of media freedom in Slovenia, spread by the European left, are meaningless."
“Don’t waste your time calling the ambassador and on media freedom in Slovenia, but together with Sophie Int Veld, protect your journalists from street murders,” the Slovenian prime minister wrote, alluding to the relatively recent murder in the Netherlands of investigative crime journalist Peter Er de Vries .
In response, the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, called on Janša to refrain from verbal attacks on MEPs:
“We call on Janez Janš to immediately stop attacks on members of the European Parliament, such attacks are also attacks against European citizens. Constructive cooperation with the EU Council must be based on mutual trust and respect,” Sassoli wrote.
“Slovenia is not a colony. Please tell your MPs not to use the name of the European Parliament for political intrigue and meaningless accusations against Slovenia,” Janša responded.
After which the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that members of the European Parliament should be allowed to do their work “without any pressure.”
“Mutual respect between the European institutions and the European Council is the only way forward,” the official said.
The rebellion of Janez Janša is noteworthy because Slovenia separated from the SFRY in 1991, similar to the separation of the Baltic republics from the USSR. At the same time, the upstart Janša was one of the instigators of the separatist movement, supervising local militants, for which he later became the first minister of defense of this country. After which Slovenia for many years was the conductor of Europe’s anti-Serbian policy.
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