PS Turns to EC over Law on STVR, Says That It's in Conflict with EU Legislation

Bratislava, 18 November (TASR) - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party has appealed to the European Commission (EC) regarding the law on public-service broadcaster Slovak Television and Radio (STVR), asking it to examine whether or not the legislation is in line with EU law, MP Zora Jaurova (PS) told a news conference on Tuesday. "Symbolically on 17 November, we filed a civil complaint with the EC, asking it to examine whether the law on STVR complies with EU law, not only with the Regulation on Freedom of the Media, but also with the basic Treaty on the European Union. Article four of the treaty speaks of so-called loyal cooperation, which means that no member state should adopt laws that contradict the objectives or laws that the EU has already adopted. The Culture Ministry submitted this law for comment right at the time when the European Parliament approved this regulation, so it was clearly in conflict with the principle of loyal cooperation," said Jaurova. Jaurova once again criticised the law on STVR. She stated that it enabled direct political control over the television and radio and that her party pointed to its possible conflict with EU legislation and the Slovak Constitution back during the legislative procedure. Jaurova noted that the opposition has appealed to the Constitutional Court regarding this matter. She doesn't understand why the court hasn't yet issued a ruling on it, as the consequences of the legislation vis-a-vis the way in which STVR functions were very clear. Jaurova voiced her reservations about the situation and functioning of STVR since the changes were adopted. She spoke about a disruption in the balance of news coverage. She claimed that the broadcaster is firing editors and scrapping programmes based on political orders. She also criticised the way in which the STVR Council operates, and spoke about a conflict of interests concerning Lukas Machala, who holds the post of general secretary of the Culture Ministry's Service Office while at the same time serving as vice-chair of the Council. ko/df