A compromise agreement amongst Greek politicians will see the nation’s National Broadcasting Council for Radio & Television (NCRTV) re-established and reporting to Greece’s president, and thereby bypassing parliamentary supervision. The vote was supported by 20 out of 24 of the VIP delegates to the meeting.

It means that the NCRTV can now re-start the highly-controversial auction process for four available TV nationwide channels. However, the Council can, if it wishes, grant licences to more than four channels.

The National Council’s board, as agreed upon on November 10, will be led by Athanasios Koutromanos, a former president of the Supreme Court who was proposed by the New Democracy political party. The vice president will be Rodolfos Moronis, a journalist and former National Council member.

Opposition parliamentary officials are now in agreement with the process. Former House speaker Evangelos Meimarakis said: “We must send out a strong message that the broadcasting landscape must be regulated in a transparent way. The image that must be conveyed is one of coordination not transaction.”

The country’s State Media Minister – who had already held his version of the auction – Nikos Pappas confirmed to journalists on November 10th that the National Council will have the sole responsibility for organising tenders for the TV stations.

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