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LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), April 11 (SeeNews) - Corruption and lack of transparency in several high profile cases in Slovenia have worsened the democracy environment of the country in 2017, according to independent watchdog organisation Freedom House.
In recent years, one of the biggest institutional problems has been the poor public image and effectiveness of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (CPC), the central public institution responsible for transparency and the fight against corruption," Freedom House said in its Nations in Transit 2018 report.
The special parliamentary commission investigating corruption in the healthcare sector related to the purchase of vascular stents revealed that the stents were bought at four times the market price and that procurement services at hospitals breached budgets and intentionally violated public procurement laws
In June, Slovenian media reported on money laundering that took place between 2009 and 2010 and involved Slovenias two largest banks, NLB and NKBM, both owned by the state at the time.
"The government and public authorities faced general distrust due to the ruling coalitions low effectiveness in dealing with systemic problems of capture by influential lobby groups, a continuing trend from the previous year," Freedom House said.
Distrust was also chronic with regard to the judiciary and the fight against the corruption, as progress that would, for example, allow the prosecution of important individuals, was insufficient.
The role of the media in holding public figures accountable was constrained in Slovenia in 2017 due to the weak role of professional organizations, the poor economic situation faced by journalists, and links between media owners and political parties and lobby groups.
[...] despite being able to report freely on corruption and other sensitive issues, Slovenian journalists experienced pressure from politicians and influential people," the organisation said.
Concentration in the media market also presented a problem for media independence, with Pro Plus -owned by United Group, the broadcaster of several television stations and the most visited web page in Slovenia - controlling a substantial share of the advertising market.
Details from the Nations in Transit 2018 report follow, with the score based on a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 represents the highest level of democratic progress and 7 the lowest:
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