NEWS

Slovenian Prime Minister after the meeting with representatives of journalist working groups and associations "Media freedom is fundamental to democratic standards of a society"

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, today met with representatives of the journalist working groups and associations, with whom he discussed the journalists' petition. The talks mainly focused on the current situation on the Slovenian media market with the aim of finding a common solution for the topical problems. After the meeting Mr Pahor said that the Government will include in the draft media act provisions ensuring higher transparency of media ownership, as well as a provision stipulating that the appointment of managing editors will obligatorily require consent by 65 percent of full-time journalists.

   

Regarding the question on the entitlement to media ownership, the participants of the meeting did not reach a final agreement owing to dilemmas as to how far the Government, in a market economy, may go in this respect.  "My basic orientation in formulating the answer to the aforementioned question, should we agree on it, will be that the rule regulating media owners must be unambiguous and equally comprehensible to everyone," emphasised Prime Minister Pahor and described the meeting as useful. Media freedom is fundamental to democratic standards of a society, said Mr Pahor and went on to explain that "the media act should include few rules, which, however, must be clear and equal for everyone, while sanctions must be identifiable and also equal for everyone".