WRITTEN QUESTION E-1734/99

by Enrico Ferri (PPE-DE), Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE), Francesco Fiori (PPE-DE), Renato Brunetta (PPE-DE) and Stefano Zappalà (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 September 1999)

Subject: Draft Italian law on equal access to information media during the election campaign

Does the Commission consider that, having regard to the free movement of services within the internal market, the bill presented by the Italian Prime Minister, Mr D'Alema, and Minister for Communications, Mr Cardinale, and forwarded to the Senate on 23 August 1999 (Senate act No 4197) entitled Provisions on equal access to the information media during the election and referendum campaign and on political broadcasts, containing various provisions to regulate political and electoral information and publicity other than radio and television broadcasts using network services (articles 1,3,4,10) falls within the scope of Community Directive 98/0048/EC(1)? If so, does it consider that the bill complies with the requirements of the Community rules with regard to giving adequate notice and related provisions?

Under the directive in question, each Member State of the European Union is obliged to notify the Commission of any draft national law or regulation that seeks to regulate information society services, which includes electronic services. As the services in question are provided in return for remuneration, the forms of publicity referred to in the national legislation in question fall within the scope of the Treaty of Rome and hence of Directive 98/0048/EC.

(1) OJ L 217, 5.8.1998, p. 18.

Answer by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(11 November 1999)

As already mentioned in the answer to Mr Tajani's written question P-1608/99(1), to which the Honourable Members are referred, the bill alluded to contains, at least according to the information currently available, articles designed explicitly to govern political and campaign advertising in on-line services.

Since, as is correctly pointed out in the question, the provisions of the bill concern information society services, before they are definitively adopted at national level they must be submitted in good time to the Commission in a formal notification under Directive 98/0048/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 July 1998 amending Directive 98/0034/EC laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations(2).

This Directive stipulates in particular that, at the moment of notification, the draft should be is at a stage of preparation at which substantial amendments can still be made (Article 1(12)), so that an examination of the text by the Commission and the other Member States can forestall any new obstacles to the free movement of on-line services within the internal market.

Any adoption of national provisions as mentioned by the Honourable Members in violation of the obligation to provide prior notification under Directive 98/0034/EC, as modified by Directive 98/0048/EC, would render them inapplicable and unenforceable.

The Commission has not been notified of the bill in question under the above-mentioned Directive.

(1) OJ C 27 E, 29.1.2000, p. 146.

(2) OJ L 217, 5.8.1998.