WRITTEN QUESTION E-2668/99 by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission. Regulations on advertisements during election campaigns.
Date: 2000-01-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EC opinion, EU Member State, European Commission, Italy, election campaign publicity, legal basis

C 280 E/98

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.10.2000

Reply

(16 March 2000)

The Council fully supports the objective of Azerbaijan to become a member of the Council of Europe.
However, neither the Council nor the High Representative is involved in this accession process and is
therefore not in a position to comment on it.

in support of developing closer relations
The High Representative will continue to assist the Council
between the European Union and Azerbaijan. The European Union has contractual relations with
Azerbaijan through a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement which provides for, amongst other things,
enhanced trade relations, financial cooperation, and a political dialogue.

The first meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council established under this agreement took place
in October 1999 and a further meeting is planned later this year.

The political dialogue provides the European Union with the opportunity to raise a number of issues of
interest including human rights, regional cooperation and the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

(2000/C 280 E/100)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2668/99

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(12 January 2000)

Subject: Regulations on advertisements during election campaigns

In Italy one of the great topics of debate at the moment is equal opportunities in the field of television
advertising during election campaigns; in fact, for parties and individual politicians, a ban on interrupting
television programmes with advertisements could be in force as early as the next local elections. According
to the proposal
television
advertising slots would be granted. For national television, on the other hand, the parties would be
granted self-managed slots for transmission between television programmes.

for legislation submitted by the Italian Government, only private local

In the light of the above:

1. Can the Commission say how the other Member States deal with television advertising during election

campaigns?

2. Are there any relevant EU directives?

3. What is the Commission(cid:146)s assessment of the issue?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(29 February 2000)

includes provisions relating to advertising, sponsorship and teleshopping. However,

Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by
law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting
activities (1), as amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June
1997 (2),
these
provisions do not govern political broadcasts or political advertising, but relate to advertising spots
without distinction in terms of time. The Commission has not received any complaints concerning
arrangements in the Member States similar to those described by the Honourable Member. The Commun-
ity rules in force in this area do not make provision for any examination of national regulations at the
draft stage, such as the proposal referred to, unless the text contains provisions relating specifically to
information society services, which are subject to the prior notification obligation under Directive 98/34/EC

3.10.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 280 E/99

of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision
of information in the field of technical standards and regulations (3) (as amended by Directive 98/48/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 July 1998 (4)).

(1) OJ L 298, 17.10.1989.
(2) OJ L 202, 30.7.1997.
(3) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998.
(4) OJ L 217, 5.8.1998.

(2000/C 280 E/101)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2669/99

by Benedetto Della Vedova (TDI) to the Commission

Subject: State aid to Philipp Holzmann AG

(12 January 2000)

It has been announced that
restructuring of Philipp Holzmann AG, the construction group.

the German Government

is to take various measures to facilitate the

The Commission(cid:146)s recent notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid in
the form of guarantees clarifies the circumstances in which State guarantees fall under the heading of State
aid and how far they are compatible with Article 87 of the EC Treaty.

The provisions announced,
loans amounting to DEM 150 million and guarantees of a further
DEM 100 million, constitute State aid (specifically, aid for rescuing and restructuring, as defined in the
Community guidelines published in OJ C 368, 23.12.1994) falling within the scope of Articles 87 and 88
of the EC Treaty.

In view of the above, does the Commission not consider that these measures taken by the German
Government constitute a serious distortion of competition within the Community and breach the
provisions on State aid in Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty?

In the light of the statements by the Commissioner responsible for competition and the Governor of the
European Central Bank on the (cid:145)coincidence(cid:146) of measures and proposals for State interference in the markets
and the euro(cid:146)s weakness, does the Commission intend to take steps to reduce the number of possible
exceptions to the prohibition on State aid contained in Article 87 of the EC Treaty? In particular, does the
Commission not think it advisable to take action to modify,
if not tighten up, the above-mentioned
(cid:145)Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty(cid:146), which are
characterised by an excessively general and broad approval system?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(9 February 2000)

Whether or not the measures of the German government constitute a serious distortion of competition has
to be assessed on the basis of a detailed analysis taking into account the criteria of the Guidelines on state
aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (1). These guidelines which came into force on
9 October 1999 amended the previous guidelines from 1994 and have stricter criteria, for instance, with
respect to the avoidance of undue distortions of competition and the (cid:145)one time, last time(cid:146) principle.

After a preliminary examination of the notification the Commission found that the aid raised doubts as to
its compatibility with the common market. Therefore, on 18 January 2000 the Commission initiated
proceedings in order to launch an in-depth investigation of the aid measures.

(1) OJ C 288, 9.10.1999.