![\"People](\"http:\/\/rt.com\/files\/news\/1f\/64\/30\/00\/g-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJournalists from Greece\u2019s national broadcaster refuse to leave the office and continue to stream over the internet in defiance of Tuesday\u2019s dramatic axing. Amid sharp criticism, the Greek government said it will create a new \u201cmodern broadcasting service.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n The decision to shut down the Hellenic Broadcasting Corp (ERT)
\n and fire its 2,500 staff caused uproar in the country and brought
\n criticism from abroad. Athens said the broadcaster had to be
\n scrapped as part of the major spending cuts, which is the
\n requirement for receiving bailout money from international
\n creditors.\n<\/p>\n
\n The planned new broadcaster will be called NERIT, the government
\n announced on Wednesday. It will be a state-owned,
\n independently-managed public company funded through a special
\n fee. While no official date for the new broadcaster\u2019s launch was
\n officially stated, sources indicated that it may happen sometime
\n in August. NERIT is to have 1,200 employees when it opens,
\n according to the German magazine Focus.\n<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n Athens cited lack of transparency, overstaffing and waste of
\n public money as its justification for their condemning ERT.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe Greek people are paying for ERT, which has three times,
\n even eight times, as much staff as it needs,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0government
\n spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said.\u00a0\u201cIt has ample assets,
\n which have remained unused.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0He also criticized ERT
\n over\u00a0\u201cbenefits for its workers and spending huge amounts
\n on external productions.\u201d<\/i>\n<\/p>\n
\n The sudden closure of ERT on Tuesday, which was the first-ever
\n shut-down of a national broadcaster by its government in Europe
\n since World War II, caused uproar in the country and criticism
\n from foreign organizations.\n<\/p>\n
\n In a gesture of solidarity two major Greek labor unions \u2014 GSEE
\n and ADEDY announced a 24-hour strike for Thursday.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We want to show our solidarity to the state TV workers and
\n protest against these unacceptable public sector reforms that the
\n lenders have demanded,”<\/i> the general secretary of public
\n sector union ADEDY, Ilias Iliopoulos told Reuters on Wednesday.\n<\/p>\n
\n The journalists\u2019 union ESIEA earlier announced a strike too to \n \n Meanwhile the European Commission, which is part of the \u201ctroika\u201d \n “The Commission has not sought the closure of ERT, but nor \n “The decision of the Greek authorities should be seen in the \n Greece is undergoing its sixth year of economic recession, \n The International Monetary Fund, also part of the \u2018troika\u2019,
\n support colleagues from the closed channel. ERT staff members
\n refused to leave the broadcaster\u2019s building north of Athens and
\n have continued TV broadcasting<\/a> over the internet,
\n long after the radio signal was shut down.\n<\/p>\n![\"Greece's](\"http:\/\/rt.com\/files\/news\/1f\/64\/30\/00\/g-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n of investors overseeing Greek austerity measures, distanced
\n itself from the controversy.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n does the Commission question the Greek government’s mandate to
\n manage the public sector,”<\/i> European Economic and Monetary
\n Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told the European Parliament on
\n Wednesday.\n<\/p>\n
\n context of the major and necessary efforts that the authorities
\n are taking to modernize the Greek economy. Those include
\n improving its efficiency and effectiveness of the public
\n sector,”<\/i> Rehn said in a statement to deputies.\n<\/p>\n
\n suffering from high unemployment, shrinking public spending and
\n regular mass protest of the disgruntled citizens.\n<\/p>\n
\n acknowledged in a report this month that it made \u2018notable
\n failures\u2019 in its handling of the Greek bailout. The international
\n body said it had underestimated how deeply austerity measures
\n imposed on Greece would hurt the country.\n<\/p>\n