Author: Lupa.cz using DALL-E
The Slovak government has approved a law that cancels the current form of Radio and Television of Slovakia. Following the approval of the law by the parliament, the current director Ľuboš Machaj will automatically resign. In turn, a new medium will be created under the acronym STVR.
The Ministry of Culture deleted the most problematic passages from the law, which caused international criticism. For example, the politically appointed Program Board disappeared from the draft, and the government also backed away from the idea that the CEO could be dismissed at any time without giving a reason.
The STVR director will be elected and dismissed by the nine-member STVR Council, in which four members will be chosen by the Ministry of Culture and five members by the Parliament. The council’s advisory body will be the ethics commission, which will include, for example, representatives of churches or Matice slovenské.
Prime Minister Robert Fico wants the law to be finally approved at the June session of parliament. At that time, Peter Pellegrini will already be the president, who will probably not veto him. The approved changes will then come into force at the moment the law is promulgated in the Collection of Laws.
We will provide details on media changes in Slovakia in Thursday’s article.