Commission blasts Greek government over TV licenses

Greek state acting in favour of state broadcaster ERT, says letter

European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Gunther Oettinger sent a letter to the Greek government alleging it was intervening in the National Telecommunications and Posts Commission over the management of the TV airwaves regarding the television licenses. The letter, published by Greek newspaper ‘Kathimetrini’, essentially places Greece one stage before being referred to the European Court over the issuing of television licenses. The letter raises a series of objections over how the Greek government handled the procedures of issuing licenses for the television spectrum. It accuses the government of manipulating the competent independent commission the regulates the TV market, something that contravenes EU laws.In addition to this, the letter doubts the veracity of the auctioning of the airwaves assigned to Digea, while it also accuses the state of attempting to concentrate powers and regulatory responsibilities in the hands of government officials. The letter, which is written in a very austere tone, calls on the Greek government to respond why it failed to take wider advantage of the TV spectrum, while it goes on to accuse the state of acting in a partial way to benefit the state broadcaster ERT.