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26 May 2020

Slovenia: Thousands protest & environmental organizations denounce 'government's declaration of war on nature' to facilitate investment

Civil society in Slovenia has been highly critical of the recent developments, where the new government has included in its coronavirus crisis stimulus package the provisions aimed at deregulation of construction legislation and speeding up of infrastructure investments during the economic recovery. Among the provisions are those that simplify the procedure for the construction permit by introducing stiffer conditions for environmental NGOs that want to participate in the permitting procedures. According to the journalists, academics, environmentalists and other human rights defenders, such solutions allow investors to override the public benefit of preserving the nature and environment with other public benefits. Organizations are calling the situation as "a declaration of war on the protection of nature and environment" in Slovenia. In May 2020, thousands of cyclists have for weeks been against Slovenia’s centre-right government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa and individual organizations have been staging sit-ins- protests have been peaceful, but some have been met with a heavy-handed response by the government: on the 26th of May 2020, members of Balkan River Defense were sitting peacefully in front of the Ministry of the Environment, drawing attention to the importance of nature and the dangers posed by the new law. Police officers removed them in a police van.

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