The House will be voting on a bill on the legislation regulating the hiring of government advisers through a private contract on February 15, the House ethics committee heard on Wednesday.

During the session, the committee heard the amendments proposed by political parties concerning the law on hiring of advisers-partners by the President of the Republic, his ministers, and the government spokesman.

Speaking after the session, Diko deputy Panikos Leonidou said that the amendments, which he worked on with Marinos Moushouttas and Andreas Themistokleous, are steps in the right direction.

As well as becoming more objective, the law will be harmonised with the one voted for parliamentary advisers, he explained.

Leonidou also said that no issue would arise regarding the amendment that allows a minister to choose a person who holds a degree or higher education diploma, as it will be combined with the salary limit, which remains at €25,000.

For his part, Moushouttas referred to the amendments he participated in drafting, saying that the first provides that a degree or equivalent will not be required, meaning that the exception made for journalists, who usually complete two or three-year courses, will not be needed.

About the amendment concerning the limit of €25,000, he said that the idea behind it is that an official should have the right to hire anyone he or she deems necessary for the job at hand.

“There is a ceiling of €62,000 or as will be determined in the budget, the contracts will be made public, so the parliament or anyone will be able to see who was hired and on what terms,” he explained.

This way, if the House judges that someone was wrongly hired, or that they are being paid too much money, then it will be able to not approve the relevant funds when the next budget comes, using this as leverage to change the terms, he added.

The third amendment, which he said is also supported by other parties, is about the transition period, allowing those who are working to continue, an exemption which will become invalid once they leave. This, he explained, is similar to what had been done for parliamentary partners.

He finally said that the bill will be brought before the House plenum for a vote on February 15, reminding that amendments can be submitted up to 48 hours before the debate.