Brussels - Prime Minister Janez Janša does not take the international reputation of Slovenia seriously enough, European Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova has told news portal Euractiv. Sustainable financing of the media in Slovenia is endangered, particularly when it comes to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), she said.

Jourova commented on the media situation in Slovenia in an interview with Euractiv released on Friday. The portal mentioned headlines about Slovenia's "questionable funding strategies for the media" and Janša's "targeted campaigns against particular outlets", such as the STA, as well as journalists themselves, asking Jourova what are her expectations from Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency.

"In recent discussions with the Slovenian ministers, I have raised my concerns. I think, obviously, Prime Minister Janša does not take the international reputation of Slovenia seriously enough. The personal attacks from him against individual journalists are surprising because he himself was a former journalist," Jourova said.

She agreed that the sustainable funding of Slovenian media was jeopardised. "How the Slovenian Press Agency has been impacted by this is, in my point of view, a serious development in the wrong direction. And it's not only me who is looking at this. I receive many letters and a lot of requests to act."

The interview focused on the situation and future of the media in Europe.