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Greek parliament ratifies bill to establish new public broadcaster

20 July 2013 02:37 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Greek parliament ratified on Friday a bill on the establishment of a new public television and radio broadcaster to replace former broadcasting agency ERT, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The move came a month after the withdrawal of a junior party from the coalition government over the ERT's sudden closure in early June.

With the support of the two parties which remained in the ruling coalition, the conservative New Democracy and the socialist PASOK, the bill passed with 155 votes in favor in the 300-member assembly.

The New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT) is expected to go on air in autumn on reduced budget and personnel under the plan.

Meanwhile, an interim organization set up by the government broadcasts films and documentaries over the past two weeks, while the 2,600 sacked employees of ERT continue their own broadcasts via the internet from the company's headquarters which are occupied since June 11.

The ERT's overnight shutdown on the orders of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in June sparked protests by trade unions, opposition parties and a political crisis which led to a government reshuffle.

The ruling conservative-led coalition argues that the closure of the entity which had become a "hub of chronic waste and corruption," was a necessary step in the framework of reforms in public services aiming to tackle the debt crisis which has hit Greece since late 2009.

The dismissal of ERT's personnel launched an unprecedented for decades in Greece plan for mass firings of civil servants in the context of efforts to shrink and overhaul services in order to reach goals under bailout agreements, secure further international aid and exit the crisis.

Early Thursday Greece's parliament approved a bill containing a key article which opens the way for the dismissals of tens of thousands employees in the public sector over the next year.

In protest of the NERIT bill, press unions called a 24-hour strike on Friday for journalists working in private television stations, while ERT employees said that they are determined to continue their mobilizations and refuse to vacate the former broadcaster's premises.