The Slovak Parliament approves the remodeling of public radio and television

June 20 () –

The National Council of the Slovak Republic finally approved this Thursday a law that contemplates the remodeling of public radio and television, accused of reporting subjectively and not independently by the Government of Prime Minister Robert Fico.

The legislation aims to close the Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS), which will be replaced by the Slovak Television and Radio (STVR) in a maneuver by the Fico Executive to be able to take greater control over the public entity.

The Slovak Parliament held a session in which only members of the ruling party and its partners participated, while the opposition did not attend. Thus, the proposal has gone ahead with the full support of those present in the Chamber.

At the end of April, Fico’s Government approved the closure of public radio and television in a controversial project that still had to go through Parliament, where it was already expected that its final approval would be nothing more than a procedure.

Fico and the Minister of Culture, Martina Simkovicova – the promoter of the measure – have repeatedly criticized the management of RTVS for alleged bias against them, and tried unsuccessfully to dismiss the general director of the channel.

Slovak legislation prevented that maneuver, since the head of public radio and television was elected for a term until 2027. The Executive has thus completed its project to overcome this situation by eliminating RTVS and promoting the new STVR.

Beyond the change in nomenclature, the law includes the appointment of the general director of radio and television through a Council made up of several members, three of them selected by the Ministry of Culture. It also stipulates the creation of a Council to oversee programming.