The Slovenian parliament approved by a majority this evening the recognition of an independent Palestinian state, after Spain, Ireland and Norway did so a few days ago, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
Slovenia has recognized Palestine as an independent state after Slovenia's parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the move, according to the Associated Press. Last week, the Slovenian government adopted a proposal to recognize a Palestinian state and sent it to parliament for final approval, which is necessary for the decision to enter into force, adds AP.
Tonight "for" 52 of the 53 deputies present voted. The opposition boycotted the session and its representatives in the 90-seat legislative body were absent, and one deputy abstained from voting, according to AFP.
On Monday, the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) of former Prime Minister Janez Janša submitted a proposal to call a consultative referendum. The move was intended to delay the vote by 30 days under parliamentary rules.
Contrary to all expectations, however, Parliament Speaker Urška Klakočar Zupancic said today that the opposition had "abused the mechanism of the referendum", as the 30-day deadline only applies to bills. In a chaotic six-hour meeting, interrupted several times for procedural reasons, the proposal for a referendum was rejected and subsequently the recognition of Palestine was approved by a large majority, adds AFP.
Until recently, nine out of a total of 27 countries in the European Union had recognized the state of Palestine. Eight of them - Malta, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (until 1993 Czechoslovakia), Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland - did so before joining the EU, even after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared on 15 November 1988 Palestine for an independent country. In 2014, Sweden became the first country to recognize Palestine after joining the EU. On May 28, Spain, Norway and Ireland joined the countries that recognized Palestine.