Greece revises constitution to fight corrupt politicians

ATHENS: Greece´s parliament on Thursday voted to revise several articles in the country´s constitution, aiming to facilitate the prosecution of corrupt politicians, the prime minister´s office said.

The changes must be reconfirmed by parliament after the next election, which is scheduled by October. Lawmakers agreed to amend safeguards shielding ministers and MPs from prosecution, which has proved a major stumbling block in pursuing several high-profile graft cases dating back to the early 2000s.Judicial officials are currently investigating alleged kickbacks to conservative and socialist ex-ministers from Swiss pharma multinational Novartis and German engineering giant Siemens. A 2003 case linked to bribes allegedly paid for a navy frigate upgrade is also under investigation.