Slovakia has fallen nine places in the latest Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, ranking 38th—its worst position in the past 15 years. Within the European Union, Slovakia now ranks 19th out of 27 member states.
According to Pavol Szalai, RSF's head for the EU and Balkans, Slovakia is following a similar path to Hungary, which came in at 68th. He noted that the Slovak government is not only launching political attacks on the media but also using legal tools to undermine press freedom—such as attempts to take control of the public broadcaster STVR and weaken transparency laws.
Szalai emphasized that oversight of public media should not be entrusted to individuals with questionable credibility and warned of growing political influence. Still, he noted that Slovakia retains a number of economically independent media outlets.
The top three countries in the index are Norway, Estonia, and the Netherlands. Slovakia’s neighbors ranked higher: the Czech Republic placed 10th, Austria 22nd, and Poland 31st. At the bottom of the index are China, North Korea, and Eritrea. In its regional commentary, RSF lists Slovakia alongside Bosnia, Serbia, and Kosovo, where public broadcasters are facing funding cuts and growing political control.
Source: SITA
