Parliament Overrides President’s Veto on Draft Amendments to NBG Law

Parliament today overrode the President’s veto on the draft amendments to the law on the National Bank.

First, the bill was put to the vote with the President’s reasoned remarks, which was supported by only 15 deputies (with 26 voting against).

Then the original version of the draft law was put to the vote, which was approved by 82 for and 9 against

The amendments to the law adopted by the majority, which Salome Zurabishvili had refused to sign, introduce a new executive position – the post of First Vice-President – in the Board of Directors of the National Bank. The First Vice-President of the National Bank will perform his/her duties in the absence of the President of the National Bank.

The planned amendments had stirred criticism among opposition and experts, with the latest criticism coming from IMF. According to the amendments, the Board will have five executive and four non-executive members, which will effectively abolish the role of the NBG Board as an independent supervisory body, as the majority of the Board members will be executive.

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