FPU: Three-year Contracts Have "Only" Been Suspended and Will Undergo Review

Bratislava, 26 March (TASR) - The three-year contracts covering more than 30 cultural projects across Slovakia, which were the subject of a recent meeting of the Council of the Arts Support Fund (FPU), haven't been scrapped; they have "merely" been suspended and will undergo an audit, FPU Council chair Matus Olha and general secretary of the Culture Ministry's Service Office Lukas Machala told a press conference on Thursday, adding that if the review finds no irregularities, amendments to the contracts will be signed with the entities. However, both the fund and the Culture Ministry continue to insist that the so-called three-year contracts are unlawful and will be cancelled. They see no reason for the legal actions announced by the cultural entities. "Three-year contracts are unlawful, but in this case, we'll have to review them. They'll no longer be concluded in the format in which they were originally created. We'll work on an annual basis, because the financial contract with the ministry runs in January, and we don't know what will happen a year from now," stated Olha. Neither the fund nor the ministry is happy that "privileged" entities should continue to receive long-term financial support at the expense of others that haven't received any financial support from FPU over the years. They also emphasise that no one can explain the criteria used to approve up to three years of support for these entities. They speak of non-standard procedures and doubts regarding transparency. In some cases, they also point to links to the current opposition. They justify the need for an audit - which should cover both finances and the fulfilment of obligations - by noting that, to their knowledge, no such audit has taken place to date. "The hysteria that has arisen around these 35 entities is unwarranted," stated Machala, insisting that the so-called three-year contracts are illegal because they violate the FPU Act. While he acknowledged that the law doesn't prohibit such contracts, it doesn't mandate them either. According to him, it's pointless to discuss potential legal disputes by the entities concerned at this time. am