At the national level, responsibility for the formulation and implementation of cultural policies is shared between the legislature (the National Assembly) and the executive (the Council of Ministers).
The supreme central executive body with the right to initiate legislation in the sphere of culture and formulate the main principles of national cultural policy is the Ministry of Culture.
The Ministry of Culture is headed by a Minister who is advised mainly by a Collegium and several expert councils representing various arts fields. The Minister is entitled to appoint his/her own political cabinet, which supports him/her in reaching and promoting concrete decisions concerning governmental policy and its promotion in society. The Political Cabinet comprises deputy-ministers, the head of the Cabinet, the Parliamentary Secretary and the head of The Public Relations Unit. There are three specialised units within the structure of the Cabinet: Protocol Service, Inspectorate and Internal Audit Units.
The structure of the Ministry has been changed two times in the last decade. The new structure of the Ministry came into force in November 2009. (In June 2010, a third Deputy Minister was appointed to take charge of the new theatre reform.)
In 2014, a new Structural Regulation of the Ministry of Culture came into force. The deputy ministries were cut from three to two. There are four directorates in charge of the Secretary dealing with General Administration – “Administrative Services and Human Resources”, “Public Relations and Protocol”, “Budget, Financial and Accounting Activities” and “Property Management”. The specialised administration includes the general directorate “Inspectorate General for Cultural Heritage” and 6 other directorates of “Cultural Heritage, Museums and Fine Arts”, “Legal Services and Public Procurement”, “European Programs and Projects”, “International and Regional Activities”, “Performing Arts and Art Education” and “Copyright and Neighbouring Rights”.
The Executive Agency National Film Centre and the National Institute of Monuments of Culture, which is in charge of the protection of cultural landscapes, remain structures with an autonomous legal status and budget. The activities of the Executive Agency and the Institute are guided by a programme approved by the Minister of Culture, supervised by a deputy minister and implemented by their respective directors.
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