Slovenia has officially taken over the European Union presidency for the next six months, taking the reins from Portugal. It comes at a very important time for the EU, as the region continues to fight, and recover from, the pandemic.

What is the EU presidency?

The EU presidency changes hands every six months, it's mostly a bureaucratic role, helping prepare meeting agendas and calendars. But the country at the helm sets the tone for policymaking and there are concerns about Slovenia taking this position when there is a spotlight on democratic standards in EU member states.

How is Slovenia viewed within the EU?

Slovenia joined the EU in 2004 and previously held the EU presidency in 2008. Since then, Slovenia has clashed with Brussels over several issues. Slovenian prime minister Janez Jansa is known to be a close ally of Hungarian leader Viktor Orban – and he's stayed silent in the past few weeks as the majority of EU states condemned Hungary's new law banning LGBT education for under 18s. The law could see Hungary sanctioned for going against the values of the union.

Slovenia's prime minister was a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, retweeting theories about voter fraud throughout the U.S. election and predicting Joe Biden would be "one of the weakest presidents in history" - only congratulating him after he was sworn in. He had his own impeachment motion brought against him in May after the opposition accused him of clamping down on media freedom and mismanaging the pandemic, with particular concerns around vaccine shortages.

What do Slovenia's politics mean for the EU presidency?

One foreign policy analyst has said the presidency will be a test for the EU as countries including Poland, Hungary and Slovenia have challenged positions supported by the rest of the bloc. The nations have clashed with union values over LGBT rights, independence of judicial systems and media freedom. Faris Kocan, from the Center of International Relations in Ljubljana, questioned the values that would be promoted by a Slovenian presidency. "Probably the biggest question now is what 'European values' actually mean? Are those values of tolerance, human rights, freedom, liberties, or are those values of some past times and undemocratic regimes?" he said.

At the same time Slovenia's president Borut Pahor has rejected suggestions that the prime minister and the government's politics could hurt the country's EU presidency. 

"Of course, there are some activities of the government that I don't agree with," he said. "But I can't accept sharp assessment about the overthrow of democracy. There are things that are possible to avoid and focus on more important issues – for Slovenia and Europe. I hope this is a chance for the government and the prime minister to focus more on subjects that are vital for Slovenia and the EU,” he said.