FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 201316:54:12
AFP PHOTO/ LOUISA GOULIAMAKI

Government is re-launching public broadcaster ERT, says Greek PM

The Greek government is not abolishing the public broadcaster, ERT, “but is re-launching it on a new foundation”, declares Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras, while European Commission sources tell New Europe that Athens is in breach of EU law.
“What is being abolished is the current corporation, which was dysfunctional and operated on weak foundations, without margin for improvement, contrary to the current process of establishing a new corporation of guaranteed independence” he adds.
 He also notes that a bill on replacing ERT “by a modern, public, though not state or party-controlled radio and television broadcaster, on the model of the most successful European public broadcasters. The bill for the new public broadcaster guarantees complete independence from governmental or other partisan interventions”.
 According to Mr. Samaras, “the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) was up until today a characteristic example of unique lack of transparency and extraordinary misuse of public funds. The Greek people had been supporting it through an extra tax incorporated in electricity bills that amounted to nearly 300 million euro per year! The cost was three to seven times higher, compared to other television broadcasters, while personnel numbers were four to six times higher for considerably lower audience ratings, which added up to only about half the ratings of an average commercial channel for all three public channels put together”.
 He also claims that “a regime of lack of transparency and disarray prevailed.   An indicative example of mismanagement and waste was that, instead of optimizing its own resources to create programs, paid by Greek taxpayers, ERT chose to distribute enormous amounts to private producers. The very structures and internal regulations of the corporation made any effective audit literally impossible. Characteristically enough, there had been no inventory of assets for the last eight years”.    europe on line

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