Greece reopens state broadcaster

Greek national broadcaster ERT resumed broadcasting on Thursday, exactly two years after its sudden closure that left Greece as the only European country with no public broadcasting for several months, Efe news agency reported.

The first broadcast of the revamped outlet was at 6 a.m., when the national anthem was aired followed by a four-hour news programme.

Former prime minister Andonis Samaras made the impromptu decision to shut down the national broadcaster on June 11, 2013, letting go of some 2,600 employees.

A few months later, Nerit was established as the new public broadcaster with smaller staff and programming, replacing ERT.

Upon closing, the laid-off employees continued their daily programming on the ERT open digital platform.

In light of the reinstatement, 1,600 of the employees who had permanent contracts when they were let go will be offered their old jobs.

When Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras took office in January, he promised to put ERT back on air, as the shutdown sparked a wave of popular opposition.

A party is scheduled later on Thursday in the ERT headquarters in Athens, which will feature performances by famous Greek artists like Thanos Mikroutsikos, Yorgos Andreu and Eleni Tsaligopoulou.