For the first time in 27 years, a tender is being held in Greece for granting four broadcasting licenses; the tender continues for the third day in a locked down facility of the General Secretariat of Information and Communications (GGEE). Major Greek TV stations that have been operating until now without legal permission have tried to challenge the procedure so far without result as both Greek courts and the European Commission ruled against them
The tender started on Tuesday with 8 candidates after Epsilon TV withdrew, as it did not meet the requirements of the tender. The results of the lengthy process may be announced today, it was made known. According to the rules, none of the candidates will be allowed to leave the building until all four licenses have been auctioned off.
All candidates have spent three days in a lockdown to prevent forming coalitions that will damage public interest. The GGEE building was thoroughly checked by police and sealed ahead of the tender. Participants remain in specified areas and are only allowed to leave their room accompanied. They were also not allowed to use personal computers, wireless devices and mobile phones to avoid jeopardizing the process. Journalists have been camped outside since Tuesday, at a distance from the building.
According to government spokesperson Mrs. Gerovasili, the process followed in the auction guarantees complete transparency and objectivity. She also stressed that the tender aims to restore lawfulness in the television landscape. Critics, including TV executives and parties of the opposition, say it is a thinly disguised attempt to control it.
On Wednesday, bailiffs placed several injunctions against the process in the railings of the hermetically sealed and heavily guarded gates of the General Secretariat of Information and Communications in central Athens. So far, the Greek courts, including the Hellenic Council of State which is the Supreme Administrative Court of Greece, have been ruling against them.