At a summit in Brussels on Friday, European Union leaders formally supported the European Commission recommendation to take on ten new member states in 2004, among them Slovenia. The move will bring the total number of member states up to 25, from 15. The other nine new members will be Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Slovakia.

However, according to the results of the latest Eurobarometer poll released on Monday, EU citizens are split over the issue of expansion. Nearly 50 percent support the concept, while 30 percent oppose it. The highest support was recorded in Denmark, followed by Greece and Spain. The least was found in France, the UK, Germany and Austria.

The Eurobarometer poll was conducted among 16,000 EU citizens between March and May 2002.

Support for Slovenia in particular continues to be shockingly low on the Eurobarometer poll. Just 35 percent of those polled support Slovene membership, while 40 percent oppose it. Slovenia is actually the least supported of the candidate countries, below even Bulgaria, which will not join the EU in the first wave of expansion. Only Romania and Turkey fared worse.

Slovenia normally figures into the bottom of the list on the Eurobarometer poll, with Romania and Turkey. The primary reason is believed to be poor promotion of the country within the EU, and confusion between Slovenia and Slovakia.

Among individual countries, support for Slovenia was higher than 50 percent in just two countries: Sweden and Greece. Opponents outweighed supporters in Ireland, Portugal and France.

Hungary garnered the highest support, 48 for and 30 against, followed by Malta and Poland. The average level of support for membership for the thirteen candidate countries tracked in the survey rounded out at 39 percent, three points lower than this spring. Higher support was actually given to three countries not even negotiating for membership: Switzerland (72 percent), Norway (71) and Iceland (57).

On Tuesday, members of the National Assembly completed the second reading of the draft law on the election of Slovene members of parliament to the European Parliament (EP). The law will enable Slovene citizens to participate in the 2004 EP elections, and thereby begin the country’s integration into the European Union and its structures as a full-fledged member.

The draft law will provide voting rights for all citizens of Slovenia who are eligible to vote in elections to the National Assembly. Similarly, anyone eligible to stand for election to the National Assembly would be eligible to stand for election to the European Parliament.

Citizens of other EU countries who have permanent residence in Slovenia would have the same voting rights as Slovene citizens.

The draft law also states that candidates may be proposed by voters, or by parties. Parties can register a candidate with the signatures of four members of the National Assembly or 1000 voters. If a candidate is proposed by two or more parties, then six MP signatures or 1500 voters’ signatures are required. Candidates may run as independents with at least 3000 voters’ signatures.

The Nice treaty allots seven seats in the EP to Slovenia, which is less than one percent of the total. The last EP elections were held in 1999.

On Tuesday, The Washington Times published an article by Nicholas Kralev entitled "Slovenians wary of joining NATO" as part of a series of reports from countries which are expected to be invited to join the alliance after its summit next month in Prague. The article includes comments from numerous political, social and military figures, analysts and journalists who discuss the low level of public opinion on Slovene membership in Nato.

The article cites the recent University of Ljubljana poll which showed that public support for Nato membership is just 39 percent, down from 48 last year and 62 in 1997. Opposition to Nato membership was also 39 percent. However, of those who would participate in a referendum on the issue, 55 would vote for and 45 percent against.

Vlado Miheljak, a columnist for Delo and a professor at University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Social Studies, told the paper that the press should be praised for its role in the public debate. "The government didn't feel that discussion was necessary, and it didn't listen to those against membership. The debate was more about democratic procedure, and it was forced by the media."

The full text of the article can be found here: http://www.washtimes.com/world/20021022-96501825.htm

High marks for freedom of the press

On Thursday, Reporters Without Borders published its first index on freedom of the press around the world. Of the 139 countries on the list, Slovenia ranked 14^th, higher than Switzerland, the US, the UK and Italy.

The countries with the highest levels of press freedom are Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada. North Korea landed in 139^th place, below Bhutan, Turkmenistan, Burma and China.

The United States ranked 17^th, due to the number of arrested journalists who refuse to disclose their sources to the courts. Italy ranked 40^th, due to the influence of the Berlusconi government on state television and his dual role as prime minister and media mogul.

Reporters Without Borders points out that the high showings by Costa Rica (15^th place) and Benin (21^st) show that press freedom does not depend on the wealth of the state. Benin, in fact, is one of the 15 poorest states in the world.

Among the countries acceding to the European Union, Slovenia ranked the highest, followed by Hungary (24^th), Poland (29^th) and the Czech Republic (41^st). Neighboring Austria shared 26^th place with South Africa and Japan, while Croatia landed in 33^rd place. Russia (121^st) and Belarus (124^th) had the lowest marks among European countries.

The full index can be found here: http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=4116

The 13^th Ljubljana International Film Festival (LiFFe) will run from 11 to 24 November at Cankarjev Dom. More than 100 films will be shown from dozens of countries, including many that have won important prizes at other European festivals.

Highlights of this year’s festival include hometown favorite Hanna Slak’s first feature, Slepa pega (Blind Spot, Slovenia, 2001), as well as Sergej Bodrov’s Sestry (Sisters, Russia, 2001), Joel Zwick’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding (US, 2002) and François Ozon’s 8 Femmes (8 Women, France, 2002).

Among the festival’s sections are Perspectives, featuring independently produced films by first- or second-time directors; Horizons, featuring international art-house films; South by Southeast, a regional program; Focus, featuring contemporary British film; Against the Wind, featuring experimental films; New Films from Japan; and a program of short films.

The festival has two major awards: the Kingfisher, and the Golden Reel. The Kingfisher is awarded by a jury to the director of the best film of the Perspectives section directors. The award is worth 5000 Euro. The Golden Reel is a awarded by the public to the best film in the Horizons section. The film which wins the Golden Reel is purchased for Slovene distribution.

• The official results of last Saturday’s Irish referendum on the ratification of the Nice Treaty showed significant support for the measures which will enable the expansion of the European Union. The final vote was 62.89 percent for, 37.11 against, with a turnout rate of 49.47 percent. Ireland was the only of the EU member states which has yet to ratify the treaty. A similar referendum held last June saw a vote of 54 percent against.