{"id":117494,"date":"2021-06-30T23:23:48","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T23:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=117494"},"modified":"2021-06-30T23:23:48","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T23:23:48","slug":"east-west-rift-over-values-as-slovenia-assumes-eus-presidency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/east-west-rift-over-values-as-slovenia-assumes-eus-presidency\/","title":{"rendered":"East-West rift over values as Slovenia assumes EU's presidency"},"content":{"rendered":"

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) – Amid high tension between east and west over democratic values, the European Union\u2019s presidency passes on Thursday to Slovenia, led by a nationalist who has a history of crossing swords with the EU executive in debates over democracy.<\/p>

FILE PHOTO: The European and Slovenian flags flutter ahead of the start of Slovenia’s EU presidency in Medvode, Slovenia June 30, 2021. REUTERS\/Srdjan Zivulovic\/File Photo<\/figcaption>

Prime Minister Janez Jansa, an admirer of former U.S. President Donald Trump and a blunt tweeter, clashed with Brussels over media freedoms in the run-up to the tiny former Yugoslav republic\u2019s six-month stint leading the 27-nation bloc.<\/p>\n

Jansa, 62, is also close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose disagreements with western Europe came to an ill-tempered head at a summit last week over a law that bans schools from using materials seen as promoting homosexuality.<\/p>\n

Slovenia\u2019s priorities for its Presidency of the Council of the EU include bolstering Europe\u2019s post-pandemic recovery, and its resilience, strategic autonomy and rule of law.<\/p>\n

But its turn at the helm from July 1 – setting the agenda of inter-government meetings and representing the EU in some international forums – may also put a spotlight on the growing rift within the bloc over its common values.<\/p>\n

In western capitals, the increasingly assertive coalition of eastern leaders is being watched with concern.<\/p>\n

At last week\u2019s summit, where Jansa and Poland\u2019s prime minister were reportedly the only leaders to back Orban on Hungary\u2019s anti-LGBT law, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of a fundamental \u201cEast-West divide\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a \u2018Viktor Orban problem\u2019 … This is a problem that goes deeper,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jansa told reporters at the summit the LGBT debate was \u201ca sincere exchange of views that, at times, got very heated\u201d but calmed down once the facts were clarified. He said he did not think it would cause any unnecessary new divisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cSlovenia and many other countries do not want to be part of any new divisions in Europe. There were enough of those. We have joined the EU to become united, not divided,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018HUNGARY 2.0\u2019<\/p>\n

Some academics believe an \u201cEastern European Union\u201d is emerging based on positions that contradict fundamental EU values such as the rule of law, human rights, media freedom and LGBT rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the whole attitude of this alignment is very anti-European. It shows signs of an establishment of some sort of a new Iron Curtain,\u201d said Marko Milosavljevic, a professor of journalism and media policy at the university of Ljubljana.<\/p>\n

Jansa, who has also backed Poland in its battle with the EU\u2019s ruling commission over Warsaw\u2019s reforms of the judiciary, said the commission could sort out any problems that arose with any law in a member state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, we always get a legally-binding decision that we must comply with,\u201d he said at last week\u2019s summit.<\/p>\n

Georg Riekeles, associate director of the European Policy Centre think tank, noted the latest report of the NGO Freedom House ranks Slovenia above Italy, Spain, France and Germany in terms of political rights and civil liberties.<\/p>\n

Its presidency will nevertheless focus minds on these issues, Riekeles said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that the Slovenian presidency and Prime Minister Jansa have to take seriously,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the context of the presidency, there is no avoiding of scrutiny on the issue of effective democratic rights, the respect of the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

The EU executive, the European Commission, recently accused Poland, Hungary and Slovenia of undermining media freedoms, accusing Jansa of smearing a journalist who had reported on efforts to overhaul his country\u2019s national press agency.<\/p>\n

Jansa rejected accusations that he had bullied the reporter.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) – Amid high tension between east and west over democratic values, the European Union\u2019s presidency passes on Thursday to Slovenia, led by a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":117493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nEast-West rift over values as Slovenia assumes EU's presidency - Fin2me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/east-west-rift-over-values-as-slovenia-assumes-eus-presidency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"East-West rift over values as Slovenia assumes EU's presidency - Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LJUBLJANA (Reuters) – Amid high tension between east and west over democratic values, the European Union\u2019s presidency passes on Thursday to Slovenia, led by a [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/east-west-rift-over-values-as-slovenia-assumes-eus-presidency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-30T23:23:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/East-West-rift-over-values-as-Slovenia-assumes-EUs-presidency.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/east-west-rift-over-values-as-slovenia-assumes-eus-presidency\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/east-west-rift-over-values-as-slovenia-assumes-eus-presidency\/\",\"name\":\"East-West rift over values as Slovenia assumes EU's presidency - 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