A ruling by Greece’s Council of State has effectively invalidated the recent controversial award of four national TV licences.
According to Ekathimerini, the council said that the law on which the government auction was based contravened the country’s constitution.
The council’s decision, which also invalidated the law, was based on the constitutional provision that the National Broadcasting Council rather than government should undertake the award of TV licences.
Ekathimerini adds that the four licence winners are likely to demand the return of the first installment of the €255 million they were required to pay for the licences.
In what is a fast-developing and highly political situation, Greece’s State Minister Nikos Pappas defended the law, which he drafted and implemented.
Meanwhile, Greece’s Union of Judges and Prosecutors issued a statement highly critical of the government’s reaction to the Council of State’s ruling.
As previously reported in Broadband TV News, the Greek government launched a tender for the four l0-year national licences in late August, its objective being to bring some order in what is a chaotic TV landscape.
