By: Ana Horvat (Nova24tv.si)
If it was not yet clear to everyone that the European Commission was trying to hide something, it is now more than obvious. Slovenian MEP Milan Zver, who had requested the publication of the full report on the visit of European Commissioner Věra Jourová to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, has again been asked for an extension of the deadline. This is the second request for an extension of the deadline for the publication of the report, which has been almost entirely censored. “I have never seen so much delaying, procrastination and misleading as in the case of Věra Jourová, who, among other things, is responsible for transparency in the European Commission,” Zver wrote on Twitter, commenting on the situation.
The European Commission’s refusal to publish the full, uncensored report on European Commissioner Věra Jourová‘s visit to the Constitutional Court of Slovenia is raising questions about the transparency of her visit. The matter already escalated to a new level when the first postponement of the deadline happened, when the Secretariat-General of the European Commission in Slovenia responded to it by assuring MEP Milan Zver that they “are doing their utmost to conclude these procedures in order to provide you with a final answer as soon as possible.” In the face of these vague and incomprehensible postponements of deadlines, only one thing remains clear – that they are clearly trying to hide something.
Once again, the Secretariat-General of the European Commission in Slovenia responded to Zver’s request, saying that they “will not be able to reply within the extended deadline, which expired yesterday, because they have not yet completed the necessary consultations with the Commissioner’s Cabinet,” MEP Zver wrote on Twitter. This raises the question of what “major” consultations are needed here, when everyone, both Jourová and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, assured the public that her visit was appropriate and that there was no “controversial” discussion during her visit. Former Prime Minister Janez Janša, who congratulated Zver for his persistence, also tweeted: “What is Commissioner Jourová hiding from her visit to Slovenia and the Constitutional Court, Renew Europe? Problems with transparency? The rule of law?”
It should also be noted that Jourova visited the Slovenian Constitutional Court at the time when the Court was still discussing the Radio-Television Slovenia Act, which had been temporarily suspended at the time, and before that, she had been one of the prominent supporters of the opposition during the Janša government. Her decision at this time was expected to raise questions about the purpose of her visiting the Constitutional Court, and even more questions were raised after the publication of the report of her visit, which was almost entirely censored. As this is a matter of public interest after all, MEP Zver requested the publication of the full report, and now the European Commission’s Secretariat-General has found a new excuse to delay granting his request. “Of the six pages, five are censored, and one is visible. The last paragraph more than obviously shows that the amendment to the Radio-Television Slovenia Act was discussed during her visit – despite Jourová’s claims to the contrary,” MEP Zver wrote on Twitter at the time, subsequently formally requesting the European Commission to make the rest of the report public as well.
“I have never seen so much delaying, procrastination and misleading as in the case of Věra Jourová, who, among other things, is responsible for transparency in the European Commission. She simply cannot stay in office after this mandate,” Zver was critical of Jourová, and he also assured the public that they will use all political and legal means available in this case to ensure that the European Commission publishes all relevant documents related to Jourová’s visit and possible influence on the decision of the Constitutional Court in the case of the national media outlet, Radio-Television Slovenia.