WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1713/98 by Roberta ANGELILLI to the Commission. Regulation of private armed guards in Italy
Date: 1998-05-29
Institutions: ANGELILLI, European Parliament
Subjects: Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain, application of EU law, market access, private sector, public safety, restriction on competition, security services

18.1.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 13/67

Further to Decrees Nos 96-449 and 96-500 of 7 June 1996, published in the Official Journal of the French
Republic of 11 June 1996, pp 8.644 and 8.645, the French Government is preparing to submit to the French
National Assembly an agricultural guidelines bill (PLOA), Article 51 whereof lays down that, in order to cope
with short-term economic crises... by authorizing the supply in terms of quality and volume to be adjusted to meet
market requirements, contracts may be concluded between trade organizations representing producers or
recognized producer groups and trade organizations representing the processing, marketing or distribution
sectors....

The contracts will include provisions enabling the following restrictions to be imposed on the normal rules on
competition:

1.

2.

scheduling of putting into production or supply

tightening up the standards and quality criteria required for placing on the market.

The two decrees referred to above have been the subject of a formal complaint lodged with the Commission on
the grounds of non-compliance with the basic rules of the Treaty on European Union. To date, the Commission
has taken no action whatsoever thereon. Although somewhat less strict compared with the substance of these two
decrees, Article 51 of the agricultural guidelines bill (PLOA) still delegates to trade organizations powers to
which they are not entitled and which may not be the subject of such delegation of powers.

Would the Commission indicate and justify its assessment of these two decrees and of the substance of Article
51 of the French PLOA in the light of the above remarks?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-1705/98 and E-1707/98
given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(16 June 1998)

The French authorities communicated to the Commission on 13 May 1998 the general agricultural policy bill that
they plan to present to the French Parliament in the coming weeks.

At present, the Commission is examining the bill as a whole in the light of Community law, including the
provisions on the trade organisations to which the Honourable Member refers.

Given the short period since the bill was notified, the Commission has not yet reached an opinion on it. In any
event, when the Commission comes to a conclusion on this wide-ranging bill, the Honourable Member will have
an answer regarding the substance of his questions.

(1999/C 13/098)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1713/98

by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission

(29 May 1998)

Subject: Regulation of private armed guards in Italy

In Italy, the profession of Guardia Particolare Giurata (private armed guard) is regulated under provisions dating
from 1932 and the law still gives no clear indication of the professional status of these guards or of the bodies
responsible for organizing their work.

This means that, from a contractual point of view, these workers are equated with all other workers with no
consideration of their special status as auxiliaries to the forces of law and order working to prevent crime or the
fact that they are armed. These private guards perform duties such as transporting valuables, acting as 24 › hour
security guards and providing a security service for private individuals and public bodies. Despite this they have
the same status as ordinary citizens and do not even have the right of arrest, except where they catch someone in
the act of committing a crime, or the right to use a weapon, except in self-defence.

Furthermore, the lack of appropriate legislation has led to the proliferation of security guard agencies which are
not regulated and are therefore not subject to proper controls ensuring reliability and adequate professional
training in this very sensitive sector. As a result, the safety of the guards and the public is jeopardized and all the
rules governing competition are disregarded.