The EU Court partially upheld the MEP’s lawsuit regarding the Commissioner’s visit to Slovenia

Luxembourg/Ljubljana/Brussels – The General Court of the EU has partially upheld the lawsuit of Slovenian MEP from the European People’s Party (EPP) Milan Zver regarding the visit of then Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourova to Slovenia in March 2023. It declared part of the Commission’s decision null and void, in which access to a concealed piece of information regarding Jourova’s meeting with the then President of the Constitutional Court was denied. Zver described the ruling as a great victory.

Zver filed the lawsuit against Brussels at the General Court of the EU in May last year. He requested the annulment of the European Commission’s decision, which partially rejected his request for access to documentation related to the visit of the then Vice-President of the Commission responsible for transparency to Slovenia in early March 2023. Part of the documentation was indeed redacted.

The court declared the Commission’s decision null and void in the part where access to the concealed statement from the document intended for the preparation of the Commissioner’s meeting with the then President of the Slovenian Constitutional Court Matej Accetto was denied.

In the remaining parts, the court rejected Zver’s lawsuit, including his claim that the Vice-President of the Commission abused her powers.

The MEP from the Slovenian center-right party SDS found the meeting between Jourova and Accetto particularly controversial, as it took place during the court’s assessment of the constitutionality of the amendment to the law on Radio and Television Slovenia (RTVS).

“A great victory at the EU Court,” Zver wrote in his first response on the social network X. “We got what we wanted, insight into point 3 of the minutes of the meeting between the Commissioner and Accetto,” he said at a press conference. According to him, this is also a great victory for the EU, as it increases the trust of the European public in European institutions, while also being a criticism of European officials who think they can do whatever they want.

The parties can appeal the ruling of the General Court of the EU. In its first response, the European Commission emphasized that it would review the lawsuit and then decide on further steps. (June 18)