BRATISLAVA, October 21, (WEBNOVINY) — Concessionaire fees paid by households to public service media are to become history as of 2013. On Friday, the Slovak Parliament approved an amendment to the law on Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS) that is to replace the fees and contributions provided based on a contract with the state by a a direct transfer from the state budget calculated as fixed percentage of GDP. Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer (SaS) also proposed to increase the monthly wage of RTVS director general from a four-fold to seventh-fold of the average wage in the Slovak economy, but parliament turned down this proposal.
The volume of annual contribution for the public-service RTVS will be determined as a share on the country’s GDP, set at 0.142 percent. As the broadcaster’s budget is prepared sooner than the GDP volume for a particular calendar year is known, it will be calculated from the GDP volume from two years ago. If the new rule applied already in 2012, RTVS’s budget would be EUR 93,578,000, as 2010 GDP represented EUR 65.9 billion. In case of an unfavorable economic situation, the state will be obliged to provide no less than EUR 90 million to RTVS, which is the minimum needed to ensure the main operation of the public-service broadcaster.
The opposition SMER-SD party criticizes the amendment. According to former Culture Minister Marek Madaric, taxpayers think they will save EUR 4.64 on monthly listener and viewer fees, but the state will actually take much more from them or give them less in a different area. Madaric also opines that funding RTVS from the state budget will reduce independence of public service media, while having no positive impact on the RTVS character, as the draft’s authors claim.
If President Ivan Gasparovic signs the draft, it will take effect on December 31 of this year, while concessionaire fees will be canceled as of January 1, 2013.
SITA