VdL Ends Presser With PM Jansa As Slovenia Takes Over Rotating Presidency

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has just concluded a presser alongside Slovenian Prime Minister Janesz Jansa as Slovenia takes over from Portugal as the chair of the rotating presidency of the European Council.

• Tony Connelly at RTE tweets on the presser:
• "VdL makes a big pitch on the rule of law, standing next to Janesz Jansa, emphasising the need for a free, independent and well funded media - a not so subtle reference to the Slovenian pm who has personally attacked journalists and withheld funding from independent media."
• "In response to the LGBTI law in Hungary, Jansa says: If you think that an EU consisting of 27 member states will within a couple of years or decades become a melting pot in which we all think alike, you should think again, because this kind of thinking would be highly idealistic."
• "VDL replies: "The right of parents to educate their children was not disputed [at the EUCO]. The question was how the amendments of existing [Hungarian] laws discriminate against minorities. "...Here we are very clear, the protection of minorities is one of the founding principles [of the EU], this is what is disputed, therefore the Commission as guardian of the treaty is going into a letter of formal notice" on the Hungarian law."
• "In response to that, Jansa says: The rule of law is the basis of European civilization, without it it doesn't exist. If there are disputes the courts will decide."
• We can expect to hear more vocal disagreements between EU leaders and the Council presidency over the coming six months if today's presser is anything to go by. At the June EUCO summit, a number of member state leaders confronted Hungarian PM Viktor Orban over various illiberal policies his gov't have enacted.
• With concern among liberal politicians in Europe that Slovenia could go the same way under Jansa rising, there will need to be concerted efforts in Brussels not to antagonise the Slovenian presidency during its 6-month term.