Strasbourg, 20/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - The EPP-ED and UEN Groups are denounced by the other parliamentary groups for their attempt to prevent the European Parliament from voting through a report on Silvio Berlusconi's control of Italian media (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.8). The vote on the Boogerd-Quaak report is scheduled for Wednesday after a debate late Tuesday evening, but, given that there are over 330 amendments submitted by the EPP-ED and UEN on this own-initiative report, the President of the European Parliament, Pat Cox, may decide to refer the report to parliamentary committee.
Lucio Manisco (GUE, Italy) protested during a press conference against the "obstructionist manoeuvring by Forza Italia and Alleanza nazionale" to "prevent the European Parliament from voting on the text". The co-presidents of the Greens/EFA Group, Monica Frassoni and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, slammed the EPP-ED's "absolutely indecent obstruction". If the report "is not put to the vote during this session, that would mean Cox is giving way to the EPP", Daniel Cohn-Bendit said, recalling at the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms that a majority has voted in favour of the report. President of the EPP-ED Group Hans-Gert Pöttering assured the press that his group "is not blocking anything at all". He said the avalanche of amendments was simply due to the fact that "normal parliamentary procedures" were being used. He did, however, specify that his group considers "this debate should be conducted in Italy and not here". He reproached the other groups for seeking to make this subject instrumental in the context of the electoral campaign in Italy.
The number of amendments submitted was 338, nearly all by the European People's Party-European Democrats and the Union for a Europe of Nations Groups, with less than 10 by the other groups. When a text comprises more than 50 amendments, the president of the European Parliament can refer it back to the relevant parliamentary committee - in this case the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms - so that the committee reduces the number (by rejecting any amendment that is not approved by at least one tenth of the members of the plenary gathering). The Committee on Citizens' Freedoms met on Tuesday late afternoon to carry out this review. However, in the knowledge that over one tenth of its members belong to the EPP-ED, it was more than likely that all the amendments would remain on the table. Daniel Cohn-Bendit considered the plenary could vote on all the amendments. "If it takes four hours, then we can vote for four whole hours. We are ready", he exclaimed.
The draft report by the Dutch member of Democracy 66, Johanna Bougerd-Quaak (Liberal Group) precisely covers the risks of violation in the European Union, and in Italy especially, of the freedom of expression and information, on the basis of Article 11.2 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The report is particularly severe when it comes to the situation in Italy, stressing the anomaly that occurs when economic, political and media power are in the hands of one and the same man, namely Silvio Berlusconi, President of the Council of Ministers, and when one considers that the Italian government directly or indirectly controls all the national television channels. The report denounces interference and pressure and the obvious risks of serious and persistent violation of the right of freedom of expression and information in Italy. The Committee on Citizens' Freedoms is concerned that this situation could reoccur in other countries and above all cites the media magnate Rupert Murdoch, who controls a large part of British media. The report also takes an interest in other member and acceding countries, and is concerned each time there is a breach or risk of breach of freedom of information. It mainly denounces the fact that, in Spain, the government had put pressure on the public channel TVE entailing "flagrant distortion and manipulation" concerning the attacks on 11 March in Madrid.
The report calls on the European Commission to present a proposal of directive on safeguarding pluralism of media in Europe, which has been refused by the Commission so far as it considers the general rules on competition are sufficient.
The Committee on Citizens' Freedoms would have liked to devote its report to Italy alone, on the basis of Article 7.1 of the Treaty on monitoring respect of fundamental rights, for the very first time. The EPP-ED Group, however, voiced opposition to this at the Conference of Presidents last October and the Conference of Presidents of the political groups had finally chosen to give the go-ahead to a broader report based on the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.