The Slovenian government on Thursday approved a certain amount of funding which it is legally obliged to pay to the national news agency STA following numerous interventions and expressions of support from the country and abroad to the agency's staff so that they can do business as usual.

The government’s communication office (UKOM) said that the government’s decision came after the European Commission clarified, at the government’s request, that there are no obstacles to funding member states’ news agencies for their public service performance if the state subsidy does not exceed €15 million annually and if it is given as help to agencies in their role of socially useful information services.

The STA is financed annually, based on a contract, with around €2 million from the state budget, and the agency earns the rest of the funds necessary for its operation on the market.

Hina has learned that the government has for now approved the payment of its obligations towards the agency only for the last two months of 2020, which it was refusing to do until now, claiming that the agency’s management is refusing to disclose to it some business information.

STA staff considers this to be a pretext to exert influence on journalists’ work and their view has been supported by journalists’ associations and unions.

STA has been trying for months, without success, to launch talks with the government on the conclusion of a regular annual financing contract for 2021 so its business stability and sustainability of its financing are still at risk.