07/09/2021 (Agence Europe) – The Slovenian government will have to pay the funding due to the Slovenian news agency STA for the year 2021, the Slovenian Supreme Court ruled on Monday 6 September. The institution noted that “the founder of the STA - the State - has a duty to provide the funding” of this public service, the press agency said in a statement. The STA has not received this annual public funding since the conservative Janez Janša (see EUROPE 12687/1) came to power, the latter having been increasingly critical of the agency’s editorial line. On the verge of insolvency, the agency had again called for EU support at the end of August (see EUROPE 12781/3). In the statement released on Monday, however, it said it still hoped that the court’s verdict would “put an end to excuses made by the Government Communication Office for continued failure to provide the financing”. (AC)