PS Set to Challenge Bill on STVR in Constitutional Court

Bratislava, June 20 (TASR) - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party has announced that it'll challenge the bill on transforming the existing Radio and Television Slovakia (RTVS) into the Slovak Television and Radio (STVR) that was approved by Parliament on Thursday in the Constitutional Court. "Parliament on Thursday definitively scrapped the free public-service media - RTVS. From July 1 it will be replaced by an obedient and tame STVR. This is a disgrace for the governing coalition and a disgrace for Slovakia as well. [Progressive Slovakia] repeats, however - you cannot silence us or the free media," said PS leader Michal Simecka. The bill was passed by 78 out of the 78 lawmakers present, with the opposition not taking part in the vote. The STVR bodies will consist of the council and the general director. The council will have nine members as before, but the way that it will be constituted is changing. The culture minister will nominate four members of the council on the basis of a selection procedure, while the remaining five will be elected by Parliament. These five members will include experts in the fields of television broadcasting, radio broadcasting, law, economics and, for the first time, information technology. The term of office of members of the council will be six years. zel