WRITTEN QUESTION E-3808/00

by Neil MacCormick (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(7 December 2000)

Subject: Lettori

In a letter from President Prodi's Private Office dated 24 October 2000 to Mr David Petrie, Chairman of The Association of Foreign Lecturers in Italy, the Commission states that only Italian law may regulate professional status within Italian universities. Is it therefore the Commission's view that no Italian law whatsoever could be contrary to the norms of European Community law? Would this not be contrary to the principles of supremacy and direct effect?

Will the Commission please confirm that legislation adopted by Italy or by any other Member State may have to be disapplied where there is conflict with Treaty law or other binding Community norms? Will the Commission please state why it considers the Italian law No 236/95 to be in conformity with Union law in respect of its impact on the rights of lettori? Is the mere fact that this law deals with university posts deemed in Italy to be civil service posts a bar to any Community control?

Finally, will the Commission state what action it is taking in response to Parliament's resolution of 27 October 2000?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(15 February 2001)

The Commission agrees with the Honourable Member that the general principle of Community law would prescribe the non-application of any piece of national legislation which contravenes European law.

The Commission does not consider that Italian law 236/1995 constitutes as such a breach of European law, inasmuch as it lays down the conditions for the recruitment of language assistants and their essential job description, while referring their concrete working conditions to collective bargaining at the appropriate level. Furthermore, the law confirms the acquired rights of lecturers who were in office prior to its entry into force.

Thus, the Commission considers that this legal regime does not appear to discriminate against nationals and that it is in conformity with the Italian legal standards that are followed for the legitimate modification or adaptation of the legal status of any other professional category working for the Italian State.

However, on the basis of a large number of complaints from Community citizens and on the basis of a substantive amount of information collected, the Commission has sufficient evidence showing that the implementation of this legal regime in several State universities did not entirely respect the lecturers' acquired rights, despite what was provided for by law 236/1995.

Thus, while acknowledging that the organisation of the teaching and non-teaching staff within Italian universities is not a matter of competence for the Commission, the Commission was able to conclude that the lack of sufficient protection of acquired rights of the former lecturers, who were mainly non-Italian Community citizens, could be considered as a breach of Community law.

In this context, and in connection with the Parliament's Resolution of 27 October 2000 on the lettori, the Commission would like to confirm that it is pursuing an infringement case against Italy before the Court of Justice. The Commission's infringement case is based on the lack of protection of the lecturers' acquired rights due to the practice of a number of Italian State universities when implementing law 236/1995.

The Commission considers that, within its remit, this infringement case strikes the right legal balance between the legitimate competence of the Italian State and the Commission's essential duty to protect European citizens' rights.