Robert Fico’s sovereigntist government has submitted a proposal to change the organizational structure of the Slovak state broadcaster, RTVS (Radio and Television of Slovakia), in an attempt to make it more impartial and politically balanced.
According to the prime minister, the reshuffle is needed because RTVS fails to perform its public service duty to inform and represent the people, especially voters of the three governing parties. The broadcaster is “constantly at war with the government,” Fico said, adding that violates people’s right to objective information.
Tomáš Taraba, Slovakia’s environmental minister described the situation more bluntly. “For years, RTVS has been a parody of fairness and objectivity,” the minister said, claiming that the broadcaster is ruled by the largest opposition bloc, the Socialist Party (PS), effectively turning RTVS into the party’s own mouthpiece despite it being state-owned.
“This has nothing to do with pluralism. The government’s position is clear: the Slovak Television and Radio belongs to all citizens,” Taraba stressed.
The legislative proposal would rename RTVS to STVR (Slovakian TV and Radio, to represent the nation and not the territory), which effectively terminates the mandates of the broadcaster’s current board of directors and director-general. In the future, four out of the nine members of the board would have to be appointed by the minister of culture, while the remaining five will be elected by parliament.
The board will appoint and dismiss the director general, but not without stating an appropriate reason for it. The Fico government also changed its mind about creating a separate “program board” to supervise objectivity and “compliance with the public service nature of broadcasting” after critics branded it a “censorship body,” and replaced it with a purely advisory “ethics commission.”
Opening new rule of law frontline
Naturally, the local opposition as well as the European Commission has harshly condemned the move, claiming that the government is cracking down on media freedom and is unlawfully turning the broadcaster into a propaganda outlet.
Seven NGOs, including Transparency International and Reporters Without Borders, have also turned to the European institutions in an open letter demanding the EU’s intervention, claiming that the Slovak law violates the EU’s media freedom directives, which require member states to ensure the independence of public broadcasters.
EU Transparency Commissioner Vera Jourová is already in Bratislava as part of her “democracy tour” meant to urge people across Europe not to vote for right-wing populists, and said she will bring up the topic in her upcoming meeting with the prime minister and other cabinet members.
“I will meet Prime Minister Fico to discuss the situation in the country,” Jourová said. “I will also have a meeting with the culture minister to discuss the plans of the Slovak government regarding public service media. Public service media in all member states have to serve the public.”
The commissioner has not yet commented on whether the law would indeed violate the EU’s Media Freedom Act that will soon enter into force but stressed that EU citizens “expect” Brussels to take strong actions.
