WRITTEN QUESTION No. 39/99 by Umberto BOSSI , Luigi MORETTI , Marco FORMENTINI , Gipo FARASSINO to the Commission. A racist incident in an Italian school
Date: 1999-01-20
Institutions: BOSSI, European Parliament, FARASSINO, FORMENTINI, MORETTI
Subjects: Italy, competence of the Member States, racism, secondary education, teacher

21.7.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 207/171

The Commission has not started an investigation into the suspended tariff restructuring and is, therefore,
unable to say whether the increase in charges results from an agreement between the two competitors on the
GSM mobile telecommunications market and whether any such agreement would be in breach of the rules on
consumer protection.

As regards publication by TIM of its new charges, the EC Treaty does not empower the Commission to impose
penalties for any cases of misleading advertising. Nevertheless, Parliament and Council Directive 98/10/EC of
26 February 1998 on the application of open network provision (ONP) to voice telephony and on universal
service for telecommunications in a competitive environment (1) stipulates that the national regulatory
authorities are to ensure in particular that tariffs for end-users and the conditions for renewing contracts are
presented clearly and accurately.

The Commission will continue to ensure, in close conjunction with the national competition authorities and
the national telecommunications regulator, that the competition rules and the relevant Community directives
are complied with.

In any event, application by competing mobile operators of identical charges for the termination of fixed-to-
mobile telephone traffic reflects the fact that competition is not yet sufficiently developed on the mobile
market in Italy. The entry of a third mobile operator will probably increase consumer choice as regards
termination charges for calls from fixed to mobile telephones. Authorisation for a fourth operator will add
further to the pressure on current call charges.

(1) OJ L 101, 1.4.1998.

(1999/C 207/238)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0039/99

by Umberto Bossi (NI), Luigi Moretti (NI), Marco Formentini (NI)
and Gipo Farassino (NI) to the Commission

Subject: A racist incident in an Italian school

(20 January 1999)

In the last few days there have been reports in the Italian press, in particular the daily newspapers ‘La
Repubblica’, ‘Il Corriere della Sera’, ‘La Provincia Pavese’ and ‘La Padana’, about a serious violation of the civil
rights of a pupil, the eleven-year-old Paolo Buttaboni, at a middle school in Mirandolo Terme (Pavia). His
physical education teacher, Anna Conforte, tore off him a T-shirt bearing the name of ‘Padania Calcio’, a
football team which is officially registered with CONI (Italian Olympic Committee) and plays many matches in
both the north and the south of Italy. The teacher also threatened to ask relatives of hers from southern Italy to
beat up the child and his parents. It should be noted that neither the child nor his parents are political or party
activists. The deputy head Giancarla Simonini defended the teacher. The other children were urged to show
their contempt for their fellow pupil and to wear their own favourite teams’ T-shirts, whilst the pupil himself
was forced to write out the words of the Italian national anthem fifty times. This is a serious example of racism,
perpetrated moreover by a teacher, which goes against all European laws and regulations on the freedom of
the individual and the family.

Is the Commission aware of this racist incident?

Does it intend to express its views on the incident, in view of its commitment to actively combating all
examples of racism?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(2 March 1999)

The Commission attaches a great deal of importance to awareness-raising campaigns in schools and amongst
young people to promote tolerance.

However, it does not believe that the case presented by the Honourable Members comes under its jurisdiction.
It is up to the Member States themselves to detect and penalise specific cases of discrimination arising in their
territory.