Liberal Irena Joveva has become the second Slovenian member of the European Parliament to be elected a vice-president of one of the major political groups. She will serve as one of the eight vice-presidents of Renew in the next European Parliament.

Joveva, who was re-elected MEP as the lead candidate for the ruling Freedom Movement on 9 June, pledged to perform her duties as a Renew vice-president with full dedication to the common good of all EU citizens.

"I am taking on this important role with pride and responsibility, aware of the challenges that await us in the new term of the European Parliament. I also see the result of the vote as a recognition of my work so far," Joveva was quoted as saying by her office after being elected to the post on 26 June.

Slovenia will continue to have two members in the liberal group in the next European Parliament as Joveva is joined by Defence Minister Marjan Šarec.

EU-wide, the liberals lost considerable ground compared to the previous elections five years ago. It is not clear yet exactly how many seats they will have, but the number is currently at around 75 out of a total of 720 MEPs.

Still, Renew are likely to be the fourth largest political group in the tenth European Parliament, which will meet for its inaugural session on 16 July.

Earlier this month Romana Tomc, a member of the opposition Democrats (SDS), was elected one of the vice-presidents of the European People's Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament.

Before, only one other Slovenian MEP ever served at such a senior post in their European family. Tanja Fajon, now Slovenia's foreign minister, was a vice-president of the group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in 2014-2019.

Slovenia has had its members in the European Parliament since joining the bloc in 2004. In the next European Parliament, elected in early June, it will have nine MEPs, one more than so far. Five of them are affiliated with the EPP, two belong to Renew, one to the S&D and one to the Greens.