In response to the 20th anniversary of the “Big Bang” enlargement of the EU, the ongoing rise of populism and authoritarian trends, coupled with the radicalisation of mainstream politics and increasing support for nationalist movements in Central Europe, on June 24th, KEW in collaboration with the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA), hosted a round table in Bratislava titled “On a Slippery Slope? The Future of Democracy in Central Europe, Media Freedom, and Disinformation.” The discussion was held within the scope of “Protecting European Values” project, which aims to identify and respond to present challenges to democracy within EU member states. The project is co-funded by the European Union. The panel centered on the media freedom and the rule of law in each of the respective countries and brought together specialists in Central European affairs, featuring:
- Miroslava Pisklová, Research Fellow at the Slovak Foreign Policy Association
- Vít Dostál, Executive Director at the Association for International Affairs (AMO)
- Zsuzsanna Vegh, Program Officer at the German Marshall Fund of the United States
- Adam Balcer, Program Director at the College of Eastern Europe (KEW)
The discussion was moderated by Tomáš Strážay, director of the SFPA.
Miroslava presented the current situation in Slovakia following the 2023 parliamentary elections. Under Robert Fico’s government, independent media has been undermined, and control over public news channels has been tightened. Politicians from SMER (Fico’s party) are boycotting critical news outlets, and economic measures have been enacted to suppress dissent. The private media sector is also troubled, with major tabloids owned by Penta Investments, known for corruption scandals and ties to Fico. According to the expert these developments have severely compromised media independence, while the government’s promotion of polarization and populism has further weakened public trust, leading people to seek reliable information from independent online sources.
Zsuzsanna noted that Slovakia’s situation closely mirrors that of Hungary. Since 2010 Vitkor Orban has been curtailing media freedom, using public funds to create a propaganda machine encompassing major TV stations, daily newspapers, and regional titles. Fidesz politicians boycott independent media outlets, while Orban’s connections with local oligarchs ensure private media fall under government influence.
What is more, last December, the Hungarian parliament established the Office for the Defence of Sovereignty, headed by a Prime Minister-appointed leader. The institution is mandated to counter threats to Hungarian sovereignty. However, in practice, it has the power to scrutinize financial records and request documents from any private entity, including media and civil society groups, thereby effectively controlling dissenting voices. According to Zsuzsanna, despite the government’s repressive actions forcing independent media online, new independent platforms are emerging to uncover authoritarian actions and offer reliable information.
The situation in Poland appears more optimistic. For eight years (2015-2023), the Law and Justice (PiS) party faced criticism for undermining democratic values. However, last October’s parliamentary elections saw the liberal Civic Coalition win, bringing hope for improvement. The new government introduced legislation to depoliticize public media and announced plans to sell Polska Press, a major local news group previously acquired by the state-owned petrol company Orlen.
According to Adam Balcer, despite some positive changes, certain decisions undertaken by the current government in order to depoliticize public media remain at least controversial. Furthermore, although the significant involvement of foreign capital initially positively enhanced independent media critical of the PiS government, it now undermines the quality of public discourse, as private media often prioritize scrutinizing past Law and Justice affairs instead of holding the current government accountable.
Among the discussed cases, the media landscape in the Czech Republic stood out as most positive. Vit noted that while the media environment is dominated by domestic private capital, public outlets enjoy high public trust and operate independently of the government. Until recently, a major issue was the ownership of the MAFRA media group by former Prime Minister Andrej Babis. However, in 2023, he was compelled to divest his stake due to the ‘Lex Babis’ law, which prohibits politicians from owning shares in media companies. This step underscored the government’s commitment to achieving a clear separation of political interests from the media sphere.
What shapes the current debate is Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s proposal to increase license fees for public television and radio. Supporters argue the increase is necessary to address longstanding underfunding, while major private media groups oppose it, insisting on a clear definition of the expanded role public media would undertake before introducing any fee adjustments.
After the discussion in Bratislava, our team moved to Prague, where on June 25th, in cooperation with the Association for International Affairs (AMO), KEW hosted a discussion titled “First we take Brussels, then we take… Future of democracy in Central Europe: The European elections and Central Europe.”
