EU Commission condemns Slovenian PM criticism of media

[February 18, 2021]    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Thursday condemned Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa's criticism of a reporter who wrote a piece suggesting that media freedom was under pressure in his country, a member of the European Union.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa arrives on the second day of a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium October 2, 2020. Olivier Hoslet/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

In a tweet, Jansa accused Politico reporter Lili Bayer of lying in her story entitled "Inside Slovenia's war on the media", in which she quoted journalists and watchdogs as saying Jansa was creating a climate of fear in the media.

"Well, @liliebayer was instructed not to tell the truth, so she quoted mainly 'unknown' sources from the extreme left and purposely neglected sources with names and integrity," Jansa tweeted, in English.

Asked about the tweet, the EU executive's chief spokesman, Eric Mamer, told a briefing: "We condemn any attacks on journalists. We would not do that in Brussels and we do not expect others to indulge in such practices."

Senior members of the European Parliament defended Bayer, including former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, who accused Jansa of bullying.

Jansa responded with a tweet reading: "And, @guyverhofstadt, we answered all her questions - and @POLITICOEurope ignored all our answers. Who is bullying who?"

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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