The benediction ceremony in Parliament for the new parliamentary period took place at 11am today performed by Metropolitan Bishop of Skyros Seraphim and members of the Permanent Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.
Many of the 300 MPs were present, with a number of KKE and SYRIZA MPs being absent. Golden Dawn’s MPs were present, including the three MPs on probation Kasidiaris, Panagiotaros and Michos. The ministerial council was present in its entirety, including Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Vice President Evangelos Venizelos.
Earlier the president of Parliament Evangelos Meimarakis requested that everybody who entered Parliament be strictly searched, especially those invited by members of Golden Dawn in order to avoid any potential mishaps.
This afternoon the Parliamentary Assembly will begin discussions on the 2014 budget and the new bill to tackle racially-motivated violence. According to the government, this is the first surplus budget since 2001. The assembly will also discuss suspending payments towards Golden Dawn MPs, despite the differences expressed in previous discussions between party representatives and Mr. Meimarakis.
The first bills to be discussed by the Assembly are about renewable sources of energy, reforming the Mining Code and other emergency regulations for the implementation of the Public Revenue Code. In two weeks time the Assembly will discuss lifting the parliamentary immunity of five Golden Dawn MPs.
The Supreme Court prosecutors have also relayed the case files of indicted Golden Dawn MPs to Parliament, in order to initiate procedures and discussions for other crimes. These crimes, such as illegal possession of firearms, require a formal discussion and decision by the Parliamentary Ethics Committee, before immunity is lifted.
