Pappas

The agreement between the Greek government and opposition parties during the session of the parliamentary Presidents’ council on the composition of the new National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV), Thursday evening, has paved the way for a solution regarding the media landscape in Greece.

After several failed attempts, representatives of the various political parties on Thursday agreed on the composition of the National Broadcasting Council (ESR), a key step toward breaking an impasse that followed a top court's declaration of a government auction of television licenses as being unconstitutional.

Parliament Speaker Nikos Voutsis is to chair a fresh session of House and deputy speakers Monday to discuss the matter of convening the National Broadcasting Council (ESR) in a bid to break a deadlock that followed a court decision deeming the government's recent auction of television licenses unconstitutional.

The political gridlock over the formation of the new National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV) will be transferred to a plenary session of the Greek parliament, Thursday, where the Greek government will be presenting an new amendment suspending article 2A of the previous TV law, which was ruled unconstitutional by the county’s supreme administrative court, the Council of Stat

The government is attempting to contain the fallout from the debacle over its recent auction of television licenses so it can move on to a much-delayed reshuffle and breathe new life into the administration, possibly as early as next week.

The Greek government has backed down from its plans to introduce an interim bill that would allow TV stations to operate with temporary licenses, following opposition party New Democracy’s (ND) refusal to consent on the formation of the new National Council of Radio and Television (NCRTV) during the Parliamentary Council of Presidents session, Monday.

Despite its effort to appear open to dialogue over the way forward after its TV license law was deemed unconstitutional, the government on Monday showed no signs of seeking consensus after it submitted an amendment to Parliament that essentially suspends the right of Minister of State Nikos Pappas to grant nationwide broadcasting rights, rather than meeting the demand of opposition parties to a

Minister of State Nikos Pappas on Monday dismissed criticism concerning a 2013 trip he made to Venezuela with a Cypriot lawyer specializing in offshore companies, saying that opposition New Democracy will not free itself of responsibility for the decades of corruption that have plagued Greece with "silly" assertions.

State Minister Nikos Pappas said on Monday that the government would later submit in Parliament a provision that effectively suspends an earlier law transferring the authority for conducting an auction for television licenses from the National Broadcasting Council (ESR) to Pappas.

The Greek government is taking steps to de-escalate tensions caused over the TV license controversy, following its decision to propose Vyron Polydoras as president for the National Council of Television and Radio (NCRTV), Greece’s independent media watchdog.