NGOs to Approach European Parliament and Commission over Proposed RTVS Bill

Bratislava, April 24 (TASR) - NGOs are set to approach European institutions in response to the draft law on public-broadcaster Radio and Television Slovakia (RTVS), TASR learnt on Wednesday. The non-governmental organisations plan to submit an open letter to the European Parliament and European Commission in support of the independence of the institution, pointing to possible contradictions with European law in the legislation. The letter has been backed by the Let's Stop Corruption Foundation, Via Iuris, Transparency International Slovakia, INEKO, the Jan Kuciak Investigative Centre, MEMO 98 and Reporters Without Borders. "We're contacting European institutions because we believe that the proposal may contravene the newly adopted European Act on Freedom of the Media, which is intended to oblige EU-member states to ensure that public-service media function independently," they said. The open letter has been signed by more than 68,000 people. "In the open letter, the signatories called on the European institutions to monitor closely developments in Slovakia in the area of the rule of law and media freedom, to publicly express a critical stance on the draft law and to consider potential steps necessary to protect the rule of law," added the organisations. The draft law aimed at changing the current RTVS into Slovak Television and Radio (STVR) should be discussed by the government on Wednesday, said Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) earlier this week. am/df