Slovak Government Approves Law To Restructure Public Broadcaster

28-04-2024

Slovak Government Approves Law To Restructure Public Broadcaster

BRATISLAVA: The Slovak government has approved a law to dissolve the current public television Radio and Television Slovakia (RTVS) and to create a new Slovak Television and Radio (STVR). The new law ends the mandate of RTVS Director General Ľuboš Machaj and the members of the current RTVS Council.

According to the new law, the new Director General will be elected by the new RTVS Council, whose members will be selected by the Ministry of Culture (three members), the Ministry of Finance (one member), and the Parliament (five members).

There will also be a new nine-member Ethics Commission, which will become an advisory body. Members will be nominated by representatives of the Church, organisations representing the disabled, minorities, the Olympic Committee, local governments, the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Matica Slovenská.

The present RTVS staff have also expressed their disagreement towards the restructuring, writing an open appeal to the Minister of Culture Martina Šimkovičová, which was signed by more than 1,200 employees and external collaborators of RTVS.

The Slovak government approved the new law on 24 April 2024, but it still awaits parliamentary approval, which is expected to take place during the June parliamentary session.

Published in Slovakia