European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová (Renew) visited Slovenia earlier this year, preceding the Slovenian Constitutional Court’s legal ruling which paved the way for the left-globalist government to purge all conservatives from the country’s sole public broadcaster. Today, Wednesday, December 20th, MEP Milan Zver (EPP) lodged a complaint with the European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly against the Commission for its failure to provide access to documents related to this trip.
Zver accuses the Commission of “deliberately stalling to prevent Jourová from being held accountable for her actions” before her term ends in May 2024.
In March 2023, the Constitutional Court suspended a controversial amendment to a law concerning public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, pending a decision on its constitutionality. Ten days later, Jourová—the Commission’s VP for Values and Transparency, who sits in the same European Parliament political grouping as Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob—traveled to Ljubljana where she met with Matej Accetto, the president of the Constitutional Court.
Shortly after Jourová’s trip, Acetto and three other constitutional judges opted to overturn the court’s decision on the amendment. What ensued was the replacement of RTV Slovenija’s leadership, with all of the broadcaster’s right-wing and insufficiently left-wing managers and journalists unilaterally dismissed from the organization.
In the formal letter of complaint to the Ombudsman obtained by The European Conservative, MEP Zver notes:
Jourová had previously publicly supported the RTV law amendment, and many people in Slovenia believe the visit was an attempt to influence the Court’s decision on the law’s constitutionality.”
Peter Šuhel, the International Secretary of the Slovenian Democratic Party, who served as the chief of staff to former Prime Minister Janez Janša, says the move flagrantly violated the constitution.
“If former Prime Minister Janša’s government did anything of the like, the European Commission immediately would have initiated Article 7 proceedings,” Šuhel told The European Conservative.
Article 7 in the EU Treaty, sometimes referred to as the ‘nuclear option,’ allows for the possibility of suspending member states’ rights, such as voting rights in the European Council. The EU, under its left-liberal leadership, has repeatedly targeted conservative-led member states such as Hungary and Poland with Article 7 proceedings.
Šuhel said MEP Zver submitted an inquiry on March 22nd asking the Commission how many times Jourová had met with presidents of the constitutional courts of member states since her term began in 2019. The Commission’s answer, he said, was: “She meets with representatives of courts regularly.” When Šuhel and MEP Zver subsequently visited the European Parliament’s research services, they were informed that during her mandate, Jourová had met with three presidents of constitutional courts.
Responding to public outcry over the near coincidence of Jourová’s visit with the Court’s decision, on March 7, 2023, MEP Zver submitted a request to the European Commission for access to the documents related to the meeting. The Commission responded by, on May 5, sending MEP Zver a heavily redacted report on the mission that failed to provide any of the information requested.
On May 6th, MEP Zver submitted an application for the release of:
- the unredacted report
- meeting notes between Jourová and Accetto
- internal communications within the Commission’s offices about the visit
- internal communications within Jourová’s office about the visit.
Over the next nine months, the European Commission extended the deadline to respond to the request for information four times, in violation of the EU regulations on public access to European Commission documents. MEP Zver therefore brought the issue before the Ombudsman.
In a comment to The European Conservative, Zver said,
The European Commission’s actions during this mandate have been consistently marked by a lack of transparency and apparent disregard. The Slovenian public’s vehement reaction to Vera Jourová’s meeting with President Accetto of the Slovenian Constitutional Court was so intense that I felt compelled to step in. I insisted that the Commission disclose the internal documents pertaining to EC Vice President Jourová’s visit. The response was a classic display of opacity.
The Commission offered a plethora of excuses for delaying responses, ranging from “excessive documentation volume” to ongoing discussions with Jourová’s office. In a press conference, even the EC’s spokesperson struggled to justify Jourová’s opacity, claiming that 80% of the Slovenia mission report was redacted because I hadn’t requested the other sections – a patently untrue assertion.
My formal request was clear: I asked for all internal documents from her Slovenian visit, including communications within the EC and Jourová’s team.
For MEP Zver, the Commission’s “stalling tactics are a form of administrative abuse.”
In the letter, MEP Zver calls on the Ombudsman to:
- Find that the European Commission has violated my right of access to information by failing to provide me with the requested documents.
- Order the European Commission to release the full report on the mission to Slovenia, including any other internal documents that are relevant to my request.
- Find that the European Commission has abused its powers by stalling in its response to my request.
- Recommend that the European Commission take steps to improve its transparency and accountability in its dealings with the public.
After receipt of a formal complaint for maladministration, the European Ombudsman will, according to its website, assess the complaint and may ask the Commission to reply or to provide more information. It may also arrange a meeting with and/or carry out an inspection at the Commission and it may ask the MEP Zver for information or comments before making a recommendation or final decision.
