The alarm bells are ringing in Brussels

Brussels. Immediately before the small member state Slovenia took over the EU Council Presidency this Thursday, the alarm bells were ringing in Brussels.

Leading MEPs fear that the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa could abuse his prominent role at the top of the heads of state and government in the next six months.

“At a time when the protection of basic European values ​​of the rule of law and democracy is at the top of the agenda, Orbán fan Jansa is a heavy burden for the EU,” said the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Katarina Barley, of the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) .

An honest broker?

Jansa is a close companion of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Like Orbán, Jansa is a right-wing populist politician. For months he has been putting enormous pressure on the media in Slovenia and refusing to cooperate with the new EU public prosecutor’s office, which is supposed to take action against corruption in the member states. Most recently, the 62-year-old Jansa threw himself together with the Polish head of government at the EU summit in front of Orbán, when he was heavily criticized for his law on homosexuality.

Although the rotating Council Presidency is largely of a ceremonial nature, the Council Presidency can influence the agenda of the EU. According to tradition, however, it should act as a mediator among the 27 heads of state and government.

But many MEPs in Brussels have serious doubts as to whether Jansa will be an honest broker. Specifically, it is about the dispute between the EU and Hungary and Poland over the violation of the rule of law. For the first time, EU funds could be withdrawn from these countries. But tensions with Jansa are already emerging.

“Jansa despises parliament”

In recent months, Jansa has attacked MEPs in particular in tweets. “We owe nothing to the EU,” he wrote in May. “We fought for our freedom and democracy 30 years ago.” At the end of June 1991 Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia.

“The fact that Jansa and Orbán are brothers in spirit also shows their shared disdain for the control of their power by an independent judiciary and free press,” said SPD politician Katarina Barley: “Jansa despises the European Parliament and many government-related media in Slovenia have already slipped under the mantle of Orbán’s Press Foundation.

Sven Giegold, the spokesman for the Greens in the European Parliament, called on the EU governments to stand up to Jansa. “Jansa can hardly be distinguished from Orbán,” Giegold told the RND. “The Christian Democratic governments in Europe in particular should make clear statements to Jansa. Party loyalty must not stand above Europe’s core values. “

Last week, Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet missed clear words at a meeting with Jansa. “The Christian Democrats must not make the same mistake as with Orbán and watch the dismantling of the rule of law for too long,” said Giegold.

“Deep crisis of the EU”

The Orbán party Fidesz has since left the party family of European conservatives. Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), on the other hand, is still a member of the European People’s Party.

The leader of the Left in the European Parliament, Martin Schirdewan, said that Jansa was known neither for political foresight nor for common sense. The policy of the “right-wing wannabe Trump” is directed against the values ​​that the EU carries before it. “In this respect, when Slovenia takes over the Council Presidency, the buck is turned into a gardener in terms of democracy and the rule of law,” Schirdewan told the RND: “That reveals the deep crisis in which the EU is currently stuck.”

Jansa has been Prime Minister of Slovenia since spring 2020, which has a slightly larger population than the greater Hamburg area. Before that, he was already head of government in Ljubljana twice. Jansa was sentenced to prison in 2013 for a corruption allegation in connection with the purchase of armored vehicles. The Slovenian Supreme Court later overturned the judgment.

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