War between Israel and Gaza, live | Slovenia government sends proposal to recognize Palestinian state to parliament | International

Expansion | Slovenia’s centre-left government sends proposal to recognise Palestinian state to parliament

Slovenia’s Council of Ministers approved the recognition of the Palestinian state this Thursday, just two days after the governments of Spain, Ireland and Norway jointly recognized it. The next step will be its vote in Parliament, which will take place next Tuesday, June 4, as announced by the President of the Chamber, Urška Klakokar. The process can be approved by a simple majority, since the center-left government coalition has 53 out of 90 deputies. In addition, one of the two opposition parties, New Slovenia (Christian Democrats, with eight seats), has indicated that it may abstain. Only 27 deputies of the Slovenian Democratic Party, conservative and former Prime Minister Janez Janša, have clearly expressed their intention to vote in opposition.

The executive of this country, with 2.1 million inhabitants and an area smaller than Galicia, is led by the Freedom Movement (GS), an environmentalist and liberal party headed by Prime Minister Robert Gollob. This energy specialist engineer defeated Janez Janša’s party in April 2022, obtaining 34% of the vote and 41 seats. Since then, it has governed in coalition with the Social Democratic Party (seven seats) and the Left (five seats).

Robert Gollob announced after the Council of Ministers on Thursday: “Today, the government has decided to recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign state.” He then expressed himself in the same words as Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, and pointed out that the measure on the recognition of Palestine “is not directed against anyone, not even against Israel, but is a message of peace.” He was confident that other countries would do the same. He said, “This decision has a message for both sides that we want a quick and immediate cessation of hostilities and the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages.”

Pedro Sánchez traveled to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, on April 16, where he met Golob during a tour of several European countries. After the meeting, during a joint appearance before the media, Golob said that the positions of Spain and Slovenia regarding Gaza were “practically identical.” “We agree,” he added, “that we cannot approach it with our arms wide open. (…) The recognition of the Palestinian state is only one of the steps we have to follow. Perhaps it is the first step, but it is not the only one and, of course, others will also be necessary.”

According to a poll published by a Slovenian newspaper on 17 April, 57% of Slovenians are in favour of recognising a Palestinian state. Dnevnik.Faced by a bloc of Spain, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia, the main European powers – led by Germany, followed by Italy and France – are currently reluctant to recognise a Palestinian state.