Slovenia delays acknowledgement of Palestine's official status.
The process of Slovenia recognizing the State of Palestine takes a 30-day delay. The anticipated parliamentary voting on a related idea by the liberal-left government will not happen on Tuesday, as per Slovenian news agency STA.
The reason for this delay is the submission by the right-wing opposition of a petition for a public referendum on Palestine recognition a day earlier.
Leader of the opposition and ex-Prime Minister Janez Jansa explained the move taken by his party SDS, stating that Palestine's acceptance would negatively affect Slovenia's interests. The Golob government made up its mind to introduce the recognition in the parliament on Thursday.
Golob's coalition has a stable majority in the National Assembly. It's possible for the coalition to reject Jansa's party's petition for a consultative referendum, but according to legal regulations, this cannot occur sooner than in 30 days. Ireland, Spain, and Norway, an EU and NATO nation, acknowledged Palestine on May 28.
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The right-wing opposition in Slovenia successfully submitted a petition for a public referendum on the Palestine recognition issue, which has delayed the referendum on Palestine's recognition as an official state by Slovenia. Despite the opposition's petition, the Golob government still intends to introduce the recognition in the parliament, but this cannot happen sooner than in 30 days due to legal regulations.
