By N. Bellos
The European Commission on Monday confirmed that is has commenced a preliminary procedure against Greece over envisioned changes in the broadcasting framework in the country, considering that a recently ratified bill violates Community law.
Nevertheless, the Commission said the issue is unrelated to a tender for TV broadcasting licenses, with is underway.
A spokesperson for EU Digital Commissioner Günther Oettinger confirmed on Sunday that the executive sent a ‘Letter of Formal Notice’ to Greece in mid-June expressing concerns about recent legislative changes in the telecoms sector.
“The Commission fears that these changes are not in line with requirements of EU law which guarantee the independence of the national telecoms regulator, more specifically its independence from the government,” an official said.
A plan by the leftist government to limit the number of nationwide broadcast licenses to four has generated a firestorm of criticism in the country, particularly by current media operators and the opposition. The Tsipras government has based its decision for a set number of licenses on an obscure study it commissioned with a researcher from the University of Florence, in Italy.
The digital platform available in the country nevertheless allows for dozens of nationwide broadcasters, something that the opposition has pointed out.
Greece’s Council of State, the highest administrative court in the country, is expected to rule on Monday on a series of petitions by private TV operators demanding that the tender be blocked or changed.
