Slovakia

[SK] New Rules for Slovak Public Service Radio and Television in Force

IRIS 2004-4:1/33

Eleonora Bobáková

Department of International Relations Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission Slovakia

Amendments to the legislation on Slovak Television and Slovak Radio, which had been expected since 1999, were passed by Parliament in December 2003 and came into force on 1 January 2004 (Act on Slovak Radio) and on 1 February 2004 (Act on Slovak Television) respectively.

The zákon o Slovenskom rozhlase (Act on Slovak Radio) and the zákon o Slovenskej televízii (Act on Slovak Television) replace the rules of 1991, the Act on Slovak Television No. 254/1991 Zb and Act on Slovak Radio No. 255/1991 Zb, which previously were the legal tools dealing with the transition from state media to public service institutions.

The goal of these completely new acts on Slovak Radio and Slovak Television is identical, namely to strengthen control and to make the financial management of the stations more effective. Slovak Television (hereafter STV) and Slovak Radio (hereafter SR) respectively will have a new control and supervisory structure. There are three key elements: 1. the Board, 2. the Supervisory Board and 3. the Director General.

The procedure for establishing the Board has been completely changed and the number of members increased to 15 (formerly it was nine). Members of the STV Board are to be appointed by the Parliament for a six year term of office, however every two years one-third of the members (5) will rotate.

Legal persons dealing with audiovisual, media, culture, science, education, national heritage of cultural values and human rights areas, as well as NGOs representing national minorities, ethnic groups, registered churches and religious associations and environmental and health protection are entitled to submit their proposals for new members of e.g. STV Board. The Board of STV is competent to appoint or remove the Director General of STV (in the past this was done by the Parliament) and has to be involved in decisions on increasing financial investments. The General Director is to be elected by at least two-thirds of STV Board members in a secret ballot. His/her term of office will be five years and is renewable.

The new Supervisory Board of STV will consist of three members, the President, the Government and the Parliament will each appoint one member. The Supervisory Body is charged with the control and supervision of the financial management of STV/SR.

Unlike before, when the property rights before allocated to the State and were only administered by STV and SR, the broadcasting stations now are competent to manage them as their own property, e.g. to rent or sell buildings or technical equipment. Both shall be able to receive financial support/gifts from private entities and grants from different sources including EC structural funds (see IRIS 2004-1: 15), STV and SR respectively are bound by the framework of their public service mission. Income shall be generated from the following sources: television/radio fees, sale of advertising time and sponsorship. While STV will be financed without state contribution, SR will still be funded from the state budget.

A problematic provision of the Act on Slovak Television 1991, the requirement to allot 20% of television fees to the production of domestic audiovisual cultural programmes, has been abolished.