Debata_A4: FPU vs SNS: Who has the upper hand?

The Slovak Arts Council is a public institution that makes decisions based on the arm’s length principle. The intention of the current government, or rather the SNS, is to abolish this principle. We will soon know whether the distribution of money in the Slovak Arts Council (FPU) will be in the hands of Martina Šimkovičová’s nominees, or whether it will remain in the hands of experts.The SNS wants to transfer the decision-making on the allocation of financial support from the expert commissions to the FPU board, which would have a majority of the nominees proposed by the minister. This proposal has not yet been accepted by the coalition party Hlas and therefore the vote on the amendment in Parliament has been postponed to 13 May.

By the time of the debate, it should be clear what changes related to the work of the FPU – a key instrument for supporting the arts – will eventually come into force. Bohdan Smieška will discuss the possible impact of these changes with FPU Director Róbert Špoták, Fund Council member Katarína Cvečková and Fund Expert Committee member Jana Ambrózová.

Participants in the discussion: Róbert Špoták, Katarína Cvečková, Jana Ambrózová
Dramaturgy and moderation of the debate: Bohdan Smieška

This discussion is in Slovak.