RSF suspends participation in Slovakia’s press freedom advisory body

RSF and its local partner, the Investigative Centre of Jan Kuciak (ICJK), have announced they are suspending their participation in future sessions of Slovakia’s Platform for the Promotion of Press Freedom and the Protection of Journalists, of which they remain members. In an open letter sent on 11 September to Minister of Culture Martina Simkovicova, who has authority over the advisory body, they expressed a “deep concern” over the nomination of a new member to represent the government in the Platform. 

Simona Zacharova, plenipotentiary of the Slovak government for the development of civil society, decided to replace her current representative in the platform Zuzana Petkova, a former journalist and director of the Stop Corruption Foundation, with Dominik Papala, a radio host who works with an outlet that has been repeatedly criticised for its lack of journalistic ethics and fined by the media regulator for violating the law. Despite a request from five members of the Platform to reconsider the nomination, the plenipotentiary refused to do so. Moreover, the platform has failed to meet since June 2024, despite several announced dates, as a result of its change in composition.   

In the letter to the Minister of Culture, RSF and the ICJK insist that the new nominee’s appointment does not comply with the criteria of expertise and professionalism imposed on the platform’s members. Respecting journalistic ethics is, according to the letter, “inseparable from supporting press freedom.” Finally, the two members express doubts that the nominee can represent civil society, another important criteria for nomination. 

The Platform – established by former Minister of Culture Silvia Hroncova on 16 October 2023 as an advisory body to oversee Slovakia’s compliance with its national and international press freedom commitments – is comprised of government representatives, independent institutions and journalists. It was registered by the former government as a national contact committee with the Council of Europe’s Campaign for the Safety of Journalists. The government of Robert Fico – which took power in late October 2023 — informed the European Commission about the Platform, which then hailed the advisory body in its 2024 Rule of Law Report.

During its sessions, the platform had discussed the reform of public broadcasting which eventually led to its political takeover by the government, political pressures from Fico’s cabinet on private media outlets, issues related to journalists’ safety, and Slovakia’s fall in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index from 17th to 29th place out of 180 countries.

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The letter by RSF and ICJK, members of the platform, to Slovakia’s Culture Minister sent on 11 September:

Dear Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic, Martina Šimkovičová,

The Platform for the Promotion of Press Freedom and the Protection of Journalists, which was established on 16 October 2023 by your predecessor, Silvia Hroncová, has been operating under your leadership at the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. Since 17 October 2023, the Platform has been the national contact committee of the Council of Europe's Campaign for the Safety of Journalists.

As a permanent expert coordinating body for the implementation of commitments arising from international and national initiatives, the Platform's statute requires it to take into account the Slovak Republic's international commitments in the field of press freedom and protection of journalists, including the recommendations of the European Union and the Council of Europe. Its members include representatives of state authorities, independent institutions, non-governmental organisations and the media.

As members of the Platform, we are writing to you to express our deep concern about the decision of the Government Plenipotentiary for the Support of Civil Society, Simona Zacharová, to replace her nominee, Zuzana Petková, with Mr Dominik Papala.

In addition to the fact that Ms Petková, who is the Director of the Stop Corruption Foundation, meets all the professional and formal criteria for this position, she was an asset to the Platform due to her professional journalistic knowledge and experience.

In our opinion, the nomination of Mr Papala as a member does not meet the expert and professional criteria. Nor is it appropriate in view of Mr Papala's cooperation with a broadcaster about which there are reasonable doubts as to whether it respects journalistic ethics and the law. Respect for these is inseparable from supporting freedom of the press, which is the main mission of the platform. We also have doubts as to whether Mr Papala meets the criteria for nomination, as he is supposed to represent civil society in the platform.

The Platform has an important position in the context of Slovakia's membership in the European Union and the Council of Europe. In addition to jeopardising the effectiveness of the Platform, we are concerned that such an intervention would undermine its international recognition and, therefore, the international commitments of Slovakia.

In July 2024, five members of the Platform approached the Plenipotentiary with a request to reconsider the nomination of Mr Papala for the reasons outlined above. However, she refused their request. Moreover, the Platform has not been able to meet since June 2024, despite several announced dates, precisely because of the change in its composition.

As our concerns about Mr Papala's nomination, as well as the Platform's inability to fulfill its mission, are still valid, we will not participate in any further meetings of the Platform, although we remain members of the Platform.

Sincerely,

Karolína Farská, Investigative Centre of Ján Kuciak (ICJK), Vice-Chair of the Platform 
Pavol Szalai, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Platform member