PS: Culture Ministry Shifting Money from Culture to Itself in 2025 Budget

Bratislava, November 27 (TASR) - The Culture Ministry is misusing the need for consolidation in order to transfer money from the field of culture to the ministry itself, with the budget being increased, for example, for the ministry's conceptual and management activities, head of the parliamentary culture and media committee Zora Jaurova of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party told a news conference on Wednesday. Under the pretext of cost-saving, money is being transferred under the greater and ideological control of the ministry, with cultural institutions that are currently autonomous being brought to heel, she said. "When I look at next year's Culture Ministry budget, it seems to me that they've understood consolidation as no more than a good pretext for shifting the budget from culture to the ministry, for getting rid of inconvenient people and policies, for hiring new ones and for creating new agendas that they view as important," stated Jaurova. The MP pointed out that in line with the budget draft, contributions to cultural institutions will be reduced by more than €17 million. "For example, subsidies will go down by almost a third. The reduction mainly concerns the Let's Restore Your House programme, which is the only programme under which monuments are restored in Slovakia," stated Jaurova. Meanwhile, money for "the conceptual managerial activities of the ministry" will be boosted by more than 100 percent, i.e. by €19 million. For example, the project for supporting traditional culture at schools should cost €1.6 million, but ministry representatives present at a committee session were unable to explain what the project entails. PS pointed out that culture in Slovakia has been underfinanced for a long time and that the investment debt regarding cultural infrastructure is deepening every year. The party views the ministry's budget for next year as scandalous and devastating. ko/df