Nikos Pappas

Major opposition party New Democracy (ND) called on the government to refrain from using “publicity tricks”, following rumours leaked by officials that the government was considering replacing the head of the National Council of Radio and Television (NCRTV) with a figure ND could not object to.

Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili said in the wake of a Council of State verdict deeming a recent TV license auction unconstitutional, that "nothing will stand in the way of the government's determination to bring some order to the radio and television landscape."

A verdict by the country's highest administrative court on Wednesday night overturning a recent tender of broadcasting licenses is a "dire political defeat" for the leftist-led government, opposition New Democracy said on Thursday.

State Minister Nikos Pappas on Thursday morning defended a law auctioning television licenses to the highest bidder, after the Council of State deemed the process unconstitutional.

The Council of State ruled on Wednesday that the law on which the government auction for the television licenses was based contravenes Greece's Constitution.

The Council of State's plenary session was convening late into Wednesday night to rule on the constitutionality of a recent government auction of television licenses which reduced the number of permits to four.

The Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, is to convene on Monday and on Wednesday to discuss the constitutionality of a controversial government auction of television licenses, amid growing concerns in the ranks of the coalition over the possible repercussions of the final ruling.

Greek Minister of State, Nikos Pappas, said that if the TV license law was ruled anti-constitutional by the country’s Supreme Court (CoS), the media landscape would return to its pervious state of television stations operating without licenses.

With 16 votes in favour, and 9 against the extended Plenary session of the Council of State (CoS) has accepted the appeals submitted against the procedures that lead to the issuing of the recent TV licenses. The ruling focused on the the three stages that included the:
1. The basis of the appeals
2. Vested interest, and
3. Admissibility

State Minister Nikos Pappas has come under attack from the opposition after submitting and then withdrawing draft legislation late on Friday that would have forced TV channels which did not gain a license during the recent auction to close within five days of a ministerial decision on the matter.