STA, 14 April 2022 - Parties standing for seats in parliament in the 24 April election largely support the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkans, but are more reserved when it comes to NATO expansion. They all declare support for the rule of law in the EU and part of them favour deepening the bloc's integration but disagree weather Slovenia is part of the core EU.
Unlike incumbent ruling coalition parties, which see Slovenia as part of the core Europe, most of the current centre-left opposition parties blame the government for removing Slovenia from that core, a process they say should be reversed, as some others, such as the Left or the National Party (SNS), say it has never been part of that core.
The parties have very different ideas as to the areas the EU should deepen its integration, with the SNS standing out in opposing any further integration or even enlargement of the EU or NATO and even arguing Slovenia should quit NATO.
The Freedom Movement advocates deepening European integration in various fields in a bid to increase the Europeans' prosperity. The party also supports stepping up the process to integrate Western Balkan countries and Eastern Europe into the EU. It advocates NATO's expansion to the partner countries and enhancing Slovenia's role in the alliance.
Likewise, EU and NATO enlargement is advocated by the ruling coalition parties. The Democrats (SDS) would have NATO invite democratic countries in the vicinity which want to join and which share the same values. The party believes the EU's integration should deepen in cyber security, healthcare, defence and military technology, humanitarian aid, migration and climate change.
Its coalition partner, New Slovenia (NSi) supports the EU's enlargement to Western Balkan countries and Ukraine when they meet the requirements, and NATO's enlargement on condition the countries meet the criteria and take a sovereign decision to join. They say decisions on the EU's foreign and security policy should be taken by qualified majority.
The Connecting Slovenia alliance, which also includes the ruling coalition party Concretely, supports all forms of cooperation between EU member states that enhance the bond among them. They see healthcare and development of the energy network and food security as areas where integration should be upgraded. They say enlargement to the Western Balkans is in the EU's geostrategic interest and believe NATO is pursuing a responsible enlargement policy.
The Left stands out among the four-centre left opposition parties as being staunchly opposed to NATO enlargement. The party would like to see the EU's integration to deepen over social and worker rights and tax policy, and the legal framework in support of solidarity and equality. They do not think EU enlargement should be an end in itself, but say the EU needs reform that is not based solely on the free movement of goods and capital.
The Social Democrats (SD) and Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) advocate a strong and united EU with the former advocating enhancing strategic autonomy in the common security and defence policy and the latter favouring the EU's phased confederal development and arguing the EU should distance itself from illiberal policies.
The two parties, along with their partner Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), support speeding up EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, with the SD and LMŠ also explicitly mentioning Ukraine and the SD noting the need for a clear timetable for the Western Balkans and a long-term European perspective for Ukraine. The parties also support NATO enlargement, but the LMŠ does not deem it realistic in the mid-term and the SD says it must be well thought-through.
The SAB is in favour of a common European security policy and a single European control of external border surveillance.
All the parties vocally supported the need to respect the rule of law, but the SNS and several conservative non-parliamentary parties oppose procedures taken against Hungary and Poland. The NSi called for building a new bridge of trust and dialogue between Western and Eastern Europe over the rule of law.
Our Land, the party of the former Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec, says they support EU values, but oppose political action taken against individual countries over their political beliefs. They say Poland was welcoming refugees from Ukraine just as the EU took action against the country.
The SNS made the same argument while going a step further by saying Hungary and Poland were not answerable to Brussels bureaucrats.
Judging by their answers to STA queries, perhaps the strongest advocates of a comprehensive deepening of integration and even federalisation of the EU, complete with a social and fiscal union, are the Pirate Party and the green party Vesna, both non-parliamentary parties.
