CEE
Czechia tightens rules for media ownership by politicians
On Friday before noon, the deputies approved the tightening of the rules for politicians' business. The amendment to the so-called lex Babiš, submitted by MP Jakub Michálek (Pirates), is intended to prevent politicians from controlling the media and receiving subsidies. According to the opposition, the approval of this proposal was unconstitutional. The law is supposed to come into effect at the beginning of 2024. But before that, it still has to be approved by the Senate and signed by the president. 86 out of 165 MPs present voted for the proposal.
The opposition was bothered by the manner in which the coalition approved the law. Opposition MPs disputed both the way in which the debate on the law was limited, when coalition MPs voted to end it at 11 a.m. on Friday and also the way in which the tightening of business rules was enforced. The coalition MPs "glued" it to the law on association in political parties and political movements. At the same time, the business of politicians is regulated by the Conflict of Interest Act. Member of Parliament Helena Válková even proposed an accompanying resolution, which describes the process of approving the law as going against the constitution and threatening the legitimacy of legal regulations. But this proposal did not pass the House of Representatives. "You have just most likely unconstitutionally approved an unconstitutional amendment, which is also a crystal sticker. You really couldn't have done worse," commented the chairman of the ANO parliamentary club Alena Schillerová on the approval of the proposal, saying that she will most likely turn to the Constitutional Court for the amendment. Radim Fiala, head of the SPD club, was similarly critical. "We are convinced that this is a violation of the constitution," he said, adding that the process of approving the amendment goes against previous findings of the Constitutional Court. The SPD and ANO parliamentary clubs subsequently decided to block further proceedings of the House in protest against the approval of the amendment. RELATED
|
SEARCH
TVBIZZ LIVE
FOCUS
GET OUR NEWSLETTER
|