Joveva in Logatec: “We need proper facilities and adequate treatment for mental disorders.”

On Friday, 22 September 2023, MEP Irena Joveva responded to the invitation of the mayor of Logatec to visit the municipality. She travelled there by public transport, not only because the visit coincided with the European Mobility Week, but because she uses public transport whenever possible. She visited the premises of Brlog (the Den), which implements various activities for young people, and the new premises of the Logatec Adult Mental Health Centre. She stressed the need for proper facilities and appropriate treatment for mental disorders, to which no one is immune.

The mayor of Logatec, Berto Menard, explained to the MEP what challenges the municipality is facing. The MEP then used her visit to meet with actors on the ground, focusing on activities that address different age groups and vulnerable segments of society.

Meeting with representatives of Logatec municipality

Visit to the premises of the Logatec Mental Health Centre

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the Logatec Adult Mental Health Centre, she and the mayor were given a tour of the brand-new facilities. Dr Vesna Švab, head of the centre, explained that they try to adapt to the needs of patients and to involve them in planning their treatment and setting goals. She and Joveva agreed that no one is immune to mental disorders, which is why “we need places like this and this type of approach”, as the centre can respond to new patient requests within 48 hours and (for the time being) has no waiting list.

Joveva continued her visit at Brlog, where young volunteers carry out various activities for young people, providing possibilities of quality leisure time, sports activities, and even help with studies.

The MEP concluded her field visit with a conversation with the management and pupils of the Tabor Logatec Primary School. The pupils presented their project My, Your, Our Planet. “They came up with an idea and translated it into a concrete awareness-raising activity about care for the environment,” Joveva commended the project, after talking to the young people about the Slovenian language in the European Parliament, her work on behalf of young people and her plans for the future.

Spending time with young people at Brlog

In conversation at Tabor Logatec Primary School

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“Politics is not only a man’s world.”

On Monday, 25 September 2023, MEP Irena Joveva MEP and a number of other Slovenian women politicians were invited to a roundtable organised as part of the EWA project – Empowering Women in Active Society. During the event, the participants spoke about the challenges women face when entering politics, the importance of women’s political representation and, last but not least, encouraging young women to become more involved in public and political life. In this context, Joveva emphasised that “politics is not and should not be only a man’s world”.

The roundtable began with the participants answering a question posed by artificial intelligence: what is the reason, and above all the inspiration, for entering politics? Joveva answered that when she was offered the opportunity to actively engage in shaping policies and adopting decisions, she simply could say no. She knew she would never go back to being a journalist, but if she had been happy with the MEPs in the former composition of European Parliament, she would not have decided to enter the political arena at all, because she would not have had to, she added.

“I have found that changing the world through different means is difficult. Even though none of us here can change it alone, there are things that can be done. I think that each one of us present here today is a good role model for women in our individual area of activity.”

She also shared a more personal inspiration, which convinced her that the decision was right: “On the very day of the European elections, 26 May 2019, I had been due to give birth. But I’d had a miscarriage some time before. Unfortunately, but in the end, this served as my inspiration. You can attribute this to the universe, to coincidence, whatever, the fact is that it happened. Today I have a two-year-old child. Everything happened as it was inevitably meant to. I have done a lot and I believe I can do a lot more.”

When asked about the key strengths and skills that have helped her in politics, she highlighted her communication skills, as well as the experience she gained in journalism. This is why she chose to focus on the media in her work as an MEP, including on the European Media Freedom Act, which the European Parliament will be adopting at its next plenary session. General life experience has also proven to be useful, she added: “If you have a desire and a goal, many things are possible. My success is solely due to my own efforts. I started from scratch.”

While Joveva does not believe she faces any gender-related disadvantage in her position at the European Parliament, she does encounter unequal treatment in the realm of social media and certain media outlets:

“Or in the media that do not deserve the name. They always come up with something. It doesn’t really matter what the substance is or what I want to say, the comments are always the same. Related to my gender, origin, appearance. I’m sure there would be less of that if I were a man.”

Joveva is also convinced that her male colleagues do not get asked as many questions about how they manage to juggle their work and family life. Although she doesn’t mind them, she stressed that such working arrangements need increasingly to be regarded as ordinary, because she is “neither the first nor the last new mother with a job, whatever it may be.”

Finally, the MEP told the young students and all women who are hesitant about taking an active part in politics that they need to be much more confident, curious, persistent and dare to show who they are.

“Politics is not and should not be only a man’s world. Don’t base your decision on whether to enter politics on that. Get actively involved. Because you can do it. You have what it takes.”

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“Without books, there would be no technological development and no digitisation.”

On Wednesday, 13 September 2023, MEP Irena Joveva addressed the European Parliament during the Strasbourg plenary on the future of the book sector. As she said, “without books, there would be no technological development and no digitisation, two major threats to the book sector today”. And this is not due to the existence of digital books, but rather the widespread availability of video content which is causing a decline in the reading culture.

The MEP began by saying that without books, we would not know about our history, there would be no social progress, revolutions, research or innovation. Ironically, without books, there would be neither technological development nor digitisation, which pose the biggest threat to the book sector today.

“Not only from the point of view of the existence of new book formats, which may in the future come to completely replace printed books – though I hope not – but primarily from the point of view of the constant availability of video content, which has recently been causing a decline in the reading culture, especially among young people.”

We need to make reading more attractive and shift the focus from screens (back) to books, she continued. ” The book sector’s biggest threat is not economic or technological, but rather the decline in readership,” she explained, adding that without the latter, any help and efforts to ensure the sustainable development of the sector will unfortunately be irrelevant.

You can watch the MEP’s speech here.

 

 

 

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“They are opportunists, and we must not let them dictate the pace of our actions.”

On Tuesday, 12 September 2023, MEP Irena Joveva spoke during the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on combating the normalisation of far-right and far-left discourses including antisemitism. According to her, “normalisation leads to acceptance”, and the discourse of the opportunists, who create fear and mistrust among people for their own gain, must not be accepted or normalised: “We must not let them dictate the pace of our actions.”

Joveva began her speech by saying that she is one of the many who receive hateful comments on a daily basis, stressing that she wasn’t talking about critical comments, but vicious and dangerous ones. She is convinced that we must all take on the issue of the normalisation of radical discourse, as it is on the rise.

“Normalisation leads to acceptance. Acceptance in turn influences the perception of reality.”

She regretted that this is also the case in the European Parliament. She referred, among other things, to the European People’s Party’s deals with the far right to obstruct much-needed legislation, but above all, she said, she was referring to the “dangerous populist demagogy that is dictating the pace”.

“We ought not to normalise and accept this. They are opportunists. They create fear and mistrust among people for their own gain. Through manipulation. They use, for instance, someone’s origin to advance nationalism under the guise of patriotism.”

With that in mind, she ended her address by urging everyone in the political centre, to which she herself belongs, to reject such discourse upfront and “not to yield to the desires of extremists to influence our policies or actions”.

“Come on. Let’s set standards,” Joveva concluded.

You can watch the MEP’s speech here.

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“1592 + 193 = 53.”

1592 + 193 = 53.

I knew that the wording of the legislative act was in urgent need of improvement.

I knew that some people would want to weaken it. Destroy it. Tear it apart.

I knew that many people –including at the negotiating table; I’m sorry to say – did not have the interests of the media and, consequently, the public at heart.

So I knew that… someone simply had to do it. Had to make the first sentence of this article a reality to the biggest extent possible. And so I did.

Had anybody asked me what the final text of the European Media Freedom Act would look like in early June, when the parliamentary negotiations started, my reply would certainly have been very cautious, and probably anything but optimistic. The situation was indeed dire, time was not on our side. First of all, we lost precious weeks of negotiation as the committees squabbled over who should be responsible for what. When it was finally agreed that the lead committee would be our committee, the Committee on Culture and Education, the attempts to dilute and undermine the text began. What followed was a month of extremely difficult negotiations, and I actually didn’t think that we would succeed. At least not sufficiently.

But we did. “We” means first and foremost my team: my assistant Rok, and my policy assistant Joanna. And yes, me too. Now I can safely say that we are the ones who have made the text better. We made it more ambitious. All of our amendments have been incorporated in one way or another into the text that was approved in the committee this morning.

If I were to explain everything we have achieved, it would take you until tomorrow to read it all. If not longer. So I have decided to take you through the key details in a bite-sized format over the coming weeks, and today I will focus very briefly on “just” the one that I personally consider the most important – especially in my own work.

Transparency.

The situation in the media is not ideal, not even close. It has been proven that journalists are being spied on, the public media are being dismantled and subjugated, some sort of quasi-media (i.e. propaganda machine) are being set up with murky funding, and media companies are being bought by individuals. Again, with (occasionally) murky funding. For political or economic interests, obviously.

With the current text of the European Media Freedom Act, every euro allocated to the media will be publicly disclosed . How? The transparency requirement of government funding of the media was extended beyond advertising – to all services, including to online platforms. In addition, any acquisition of a media outlet will have to follow a clearly defined procedure, during which the (potential) impact on editorial freedom and pluralism will be evaluated.

Finally, we will have comprehensive legislation at EU level that establishes a legally binding framework for the operation and governance of the media.

Finally, we will be able to prevent harmful practices that have taken place thus far, both by the authorities and the private market.

Finally, we will be able to do more than say merely that “we are concerned”.

Democracy does not work without a free media. The European Media Freedom Act is not, and in all likelihood will never be perfect, but it is the most decisive step we can take at the moment to ensure exactly that. Freedom of the media.

In the meantime, there are still a few hurdles to surmount before the process is over. In less than a month, the act will need to be adopted by the plenary of the European Parliament, and then the main challenge awaits: the inter-institutional negotiations on a truly final text.

Today, a total of 1785 (1592+193) amendments would have to be voted on, had no compromises been reached. But they were. 53 of them.

And these compromise amendments incorporate the vast majority of the 193 amendments  tabled by us. By me and my team.

And that is why…
… 1592 plus 193 equals 53.

Greetings from Brussels!

– Irena

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“Stinging nettles operating from bunkers, get ready! It’s time.”

Stinging nettles operating from bunkers, get ready!

It’s time.

You know how it goes: be as mean as possible, no comments on the substance. Gender, looks, background, that’s it. Be chauvinistic. Sexist. Nationalistic. Primitive.

Make sure you incorporate manipulation and lies. Grammar is not important, love are country. Insult. Be vulgar.

Ready, set, go!

Recently, there has been a surge in hateful comments. Also under my posts. This is clearly happening because the European elections are coming up, and a certain faction of politics is eager to post comments from a bunker. With clear instructions.

What is the objective? To provoke hatred, or at least a certain degree of doubt. If only these comments offered valuable criticism that I could learn from, but instead I can only brush them aside. And report them, of course. Because I am not inclined to work in this manner. Because there is no point in explaining anything to the authors. They are not interested. In fact, this has nothing to do with me, the issue is much wider. But perhaps it has something to do with them… Because if their feelings are genuine, life probably isn’t easy for them.

This week, the agenda of the European Parliament’s plenary session included a debate on combating the normalisation of far-right and far-left discourses including antisemitism. To be frank, efforts to ensure a balanced approach by considering “the far right and far left” are overly simplistic.

Extremes, by their nature, carry various nuances. Not everyone is a fascist, although they may harbour a certain degree of hostility, nationalism, paranoia. A more accurate, more realistic title would be “the normalisation of the populist discourse by right-wing hardliners”. The new right wing. The one embodied by Janez in Slovenia, Viktor across the border, and Donald overseas. But the problem is that the normalisation of discourse automatically leads to its acceptance, resulting in a situation where the pace of our action is dictated by dangerous populist demagogy,­ at least in some areas.

Unfortunately, in recent years, such normalisation has not only taken place at the level of the discourse of anonymous people, but increasingly also in politics. Even in the European Parliament. I have addressed colleagues on this matter, and you can watch the recording below. In order to score cheap political points, representatives of the moderate centre-right are increasingly forming alliances with their more extreme colleagues, and this is reflected in many things. From attempts to tear down environmental legislation to the deliberate incitement of fear, discomfort and nationalism.

They aim to stir up feelings of hatred to offer a solution to the problem they created themselves. Although the levels of intensity vary across the globe, the tactic is the same. In parallel with normalising and accepting extremes and hostility, the media, the judiciary or political rivals are conveniently portrayed as enemies of the state (read: the bunker). This way it is easier to deal with them and to strengthen own power. In order to come to power or stay in power. In pursuit of their own interests and those of their cronies.

It is up to us, those of us in the centre, who are aware of these facts, to reject such rhetoric upfront and not make any concessions to paranoid populists in our policies and actions. While the normalisation of discourse is concerning, the normalisation of embracing hostility, nationalism and ideology built on lies in (European) politics is even more problematic.

Regrettably, the values of decency and truthfulness no longer serve as restraints for these people. They simply take advantage of the opportunities available to them. And target-oriented commentators operating from their bunkers, sorry, online, have become one of the main modi operandi.

We must not normalise this. We must not accept it. We’re dealing with opportunists who know very well what they are doing. They work for various people and to achieve various objectives, but not to benefit you. Unfortunately.

You can keep attacking and slandering me, I know you will. But I will nevertheless work harder than your online and political mentors in search of solutions that will not least serve you. I accept you as human beings (let’s just assume you are), but I do not accept your hostility.

– Irena

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“A subtle but clear message that nature restoration is urgent.”

On Wednesday, 13 September, MEP Irena Joveva took part in a discussion entitled “A strong and resilient EU in response to the challenges of the future”, organised on the occasion of the final State of the Union address during this term of office – SOTEU 2023 – given by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.  In her reaction, MEP Joveva assessed that the President’s speech was mostly a review of past achievements, yet that certain elements were missing, including in the areas of health, migration and the rule of law. Referring to the Green Deal, the MEP observed that a lot has been achieved with the Fit for 55 package, and emphasised von der Leyen’s subtle but clear message that nature restoration is urgent.

Joveva initially pointed out that looking back on accomplishments of the current term is not necessarily a bad thing to do in a speech, yet she found the vision as outlined by the Commission lacking exactly that – vision and details.

“As a member of the younger generation, I missed the mention of young people in the speech. True, the President said that young people hope for a better future, but we all know that,” she said. Moreover, the healthcare sector was not given adequate consideration, particularly in light of the beneficial measures implemented after the pandemic and the establishment of the Health Union. Moreover, in Joveva’s view, migration was only mentioned in passing, alluding to the urgency of adopting a pact on migration and asylum, even though it is she, as President of the European Commission, who can talk to Member State government representatives, especially those who have been blocking this legislation all along.

By contrast, MEP Joveva praised the fact that Commission President had accentuated the environment and the implementation of the Green Deal.

“A lot has been done with the Fit for 55 package, and she mentioned the nature conservation legislation that was adopted by the Parliament,” she said. She addressed it in German, presumably not by chance. Perhaps also because the President of the European People’s Party is German and leads the party that has had a great deal of dissent concerning this legislation.”

When asked about unity and cooperation, Joveva responded that these are absolutely essential and welcome, yet will be more and more difficult to achieve as the elections draw closer and certain politicians resort to more and more political game playing.

“The speech was not visionary enough, at least in the areas where this is necessary. At the same time, I hope that the enhanced dialogues that were announced and mentioned become a reality. It is my sincere wish that everything she said comes to fruition and does not remain just talk.”

You can watch the speech by the President of the European Commission and MEP Joveva’s contribution to the debate HERE.

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“It is so important to be part of the European Union.”

On Saturday, 2 September, MEP Irena Joveva took part in a discussion at the Summer School organised by the Freedom Movement’s Youth Section (Gibanje Svoboda Mladi). They talked about her priorities and key activities, including efforts to end practices that discriminate against Slovenian on digital platforms, the European legislation on media freedom, and the recent floods in Slovenia and the EU’s response. “Events like this demonstrate how important it is to be part of this community,” said the MEP.

In particular, Joveva praised the rapid engagement and response of the European Commission. It is precisely for such cases that the European Solidarity Fund has been set up, she explained, adding that it has been utilised by Member States on numerous occasions and its deployment is increasing. Due to climate change natural disasters are occurring more and more frequently and on a larger scale, she noted.

“Natural disasters demonstrate how important it is to be part of the EU and to have such solidarity programmes in place.”

The young audience were also interested in the details of the letter sent by MEP Joveva and MEP Klemen Grošelj to the responsible European Commissioners regarding budgetary adjustments. As Joveva elucidated, the procedures within the European institutions are protracted and complex, but in many situations this could be remedied. In the case of the European budget, for example, the current rigid systems will have to be loosened; it seems that such disasters will become more frequent and a certain degree of flexibility in the allocation of resources will be inevitable in the future, she said.

“Member States ought to have a greater capacity to adapt in the event of such unforeseeable yet serious and catastrophic events. Slovenia’s priorities and needs have changed, so it is crucial to allow at least some flexibility in the use of EU funds.”

When asked about her recent activities regarding the use of Slovenian on digital platforms, the MEP replied that starting her term of office, she did not think she would pay so much attention to the Slovenian language, but she realised that it is an issue of great relevance which remains unresolved. We talk a great deal about linguistic diversity, equality of all the official languages of the European Union, however, in reality this is not the case, she declared.

“In fact, the digital world and the physical world have become one, they are no longer separate at all. Quite possibly, the digital world will become increasingly prominent, therefore the official languages of the European Union must become truly equal in the digital world as well. Discrimination is not an option, and I do not buy or accept the excuses of the multinationals.”

She stressed that she was doing everything in her power to ensure that her calls for the use of Slovenian in the digital world are heeded. At national level, the situation is being resolved through the amendment of the act on the public use of the Slovenian language, while at the European level, she proposed or supported amendments to the European Media Freedom Act, for which she is rapporteur on behalf of her political group Renew Europe, which aim to ensure that all official languages of the Union are used and respected.

“Under the existing European legislation, say in the case of Netflix, which is based in the Netherlands, the company is only subject to Dutch law and accountable to Dutch regulators. We want to change the European legislation in such a way that the competence of, for example, Slovenian regulators can be transferred to their Dutch counterparts, who could require Netflix to put an end to infringements in Slovenia or any other Member State.”

Moreover, the MEP added amendments to the Digital Services Act (DSA), which has just entered into force, that apply to digital giants such as Meta or Twitter. She highlighted the example of content moderation on these platforms when certain information is incorrect or the new advertising rules have been breached. Currently, such alerts only work well in major languages such as English. “One of my contributions to this regulation is that such alerts should be published in all EU languages, without discrimination. And the people who will be checking and writing this information must have a good understanding of the language. Thus, in the case of Slovenian, this should be checked by people who are proficient in our language.” She submitted a similar amendment to the aforementioned Media Freedom Act, which has been the focus of her recent work. “Not least because of the rise of artificial intelligence, it is simply necessary to have someone who then checks these generated texts, translations of news, posts or videos.”

The MEP concluded the discussion by considering the future of the European Union. In her view, the current term has been very turbulent, and challenges remain in many areas. At the same time, she believes that the profile of the European Parliament should be raised and the institution made more transparent.

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Remember, my dear friends, …

Remember, my dear friends, …

… when we could follow content on, say, Facebook and Instagram in the order it was posted, rather than in the way “someone else” decided for us? Well …

Finally, we will be able to do so again! And that’s partly my ‘fault’. As of today, all major online platforms in the European Union must adhere to the rules that have quite rightly been made stricter, this being one of them.

Show me your ‘feed’ and I’ll tell you who you are. The online world is presented to us exactly as the algorithm dictates. Each of us receives a different presentation, based on our personal data that is sold to whoever is willing to pay the highest price. We are the product, and the algorithms know exactly who should be offered what. Unfortunately, they also know who is more susceptible to conspiracy theories, disinformation and deception.

With such a system it is easy to manipulate people and voters, to systematically spread conspiracy theories to sell illegal, harmful products, to shamelessly use hate speech, and even to incite violence, which, unfortunately, often results in violence in real life. This system is abused by those who exploit people’s fear, frustration and anger for their own particular interests; those who wage a culture war on the media and the ghosts of the past. This system (deliberately) undermines trust in experts and people with authority, reduces the quality of public debate and civility, and, worst of all, makes it impossible to tackle the really pressing problems affecting people.

The Digital Services Act was a necessary response to this system. It introduces obligations with respect to algorithmic transparency, indicating the origin of advertising, especially political advertising, and rectifying [AS1] misleading information, and sets clear rules for moderating content online.

I covered the report on this legislative act as rapporteur for my group, Renew Europe, in the Committee on Culture. It was therefore my task to table amendments, set the voting indications for the group and negotiate with the rapporteurs from other groups on the final text in the form of joint, compromise amendments.

This was followed by inter-institutional negotiations which finally led to the act’s adoption, making it binding for the entire European Union. What did I aim (and succeed) to achieve with my amendments to the text on advertising?

As a user seeing a particular advertisement, platforms must inform you why this particular advertisement was chosen for you. Most importantly, you should not be subject to targeted advertising by default, UNLESS you have given your prior consent. So pay attention to the changes that Meta and TikTok (and anyone else) have announced to date, and decline to be shown content based on algorithms if you don’t want that. Now it is possible!

In addition, companies will have to ensure that targeted advertising using sensitive personal data such as sexual orientation, ethnicity or political opinions is not possible. Targeted advertising to minors is prohibited.

I also thought it was important that you have the possibility to make your own decisions about the data you share and to set the algorithm parameters yourself. In other words, that you can actually choose how the ‘world is presented’ to you.

Of course, in this, too, it is important to distinguish between legal, illegal and harmful content. Legal content should not be removed, and platforms should not be held responsible for its removal. Illegal content, however, is currently divided into three types: child sexual abuse material, terrorist content and copyright. All of them are covered by specific legislation, and the Digital Services Act now provides for horizontal rules.

I was strongly opposed to the content being checked exclusively by automated systems, algorithms or artificial intelligence. That is why, throughout the text, I added (and was successful in my endeavour) that content blocking must necessarily be subject to human supervision.

Last but not least, an element that is particularly important in the context of my fight for the Slovenian language: I added that the online giants must respect the language of a Member State and employ moderators who can speak its language, in our case Slovenian. I am sure these multinationals can afford to do that.

We need to know who is behind the content we see on social networks, and we must have the power to control our own identity.

Irena

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”Being flexible, including regarding the use of EU funds, is vital in times of crisis”

On Thursday, 10 August 2023, MEPs Irena Joveva and Klemen Grošelj wrote  to European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni asking for further EU action in response to the floods that hit Slovenia. In their letter, they stressed that in the event of natural disasters, the EU should allow countries to reallocate EU funds according to need and urgency.

The MEPs began by describing the disastrous circumstances and aftermath of the worst floods in the history of Slovenia. They highlighted the extraordinary scale of the floods, inundating two thirds of Slovenia, which resulted in billions of euros worth of destruction and unfortunately, loss of life. They called on the European Commission and the responsible commissioners to augment the Union’s assistance in dealing with the consequences of this natural disaster.

“We must help our citizens in this common effort and demonstrate the Union’s resilience and responsibility by rapidly providing all available basic assistance to the vulnerable community. Ensuring an even faster and more effective Union response to unpredictable crises would contribute significantly to a more resilient and sustainable future for our continent.”

They expressed gratitude for the support voiced by European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, during her visit to Slovenia, and for the assistance pledged, but also stressed that in such difficult times, the whole European Union is being tested. In their view, it is the duty of the European institutions to adapt where necessary and to provide the help that people urgently need.

They therefore proposed that, in the event of severe natural disasters linked to climate change, Member States should be able to reallocate or reassess the use of a certain part of the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF) in order to provide sustainable disaster relief and mitigate the consequences, subject to clear rules and principles.

“Providing flexibility for the affected Member States so that they could redirect a certain amount of the RRF resources towards sustainable recovery and climate change resilience would be an important step towards mitigating the effects of such extreme weather events and strengthening our collective response to climate change.”

According to the two MEPs, it is essential to adapt national recovery and resilience plans and existing programmes to the urgent needs of the affected Member States – especially when other resources earmarked for disaster mitigation at EU and Member State level have already been committed. This, they stated, would facilitate Slovenia’s recovery and strengthen the belief of its citizens in the EU’s good intentions.

“The current situation in Slovenia shows how urgent it is for the Union to demonstrate its commitment to the prosperity of its citizens by offering much-needed support in such challenging times.”

You can read the Slovenian version of the letter here.

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