WRITTEN QUESTION P-3201/03 by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Search at the Il Giornale head office in Rome: violation of freedom of the press in Italy.
Date: 2003-10-23
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, law relating to information, newspaper, press, search

C 78 E/240

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

(2004/C 78 E/0242)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3201/03

by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(23 October 2003)

Subject: Search at the ‘Il Giornale’ head office in Rome: violation of freedom of the press in Italy

On Friday 17 October 2003, the head office of the leading Italian daily newspaper ‘Il Giornale’, which is
investigating the purchase of Telekom Serbia by Telecom Italia, was searched by order of the Court of
Perugia. At the end of this search, which was carried out by the police and lasted a good 13 hours, a large
quantity of material belonging to the journalist Gian Marco Chiocci was confiscated. It appears that the
only crime he is alleged to have committed is that of defaming a Rome judge in the press.

Does the Commission not consider the decisions taken to represent a blatant violation of the freedom of
the press and the freedom of expression?

Does it not feel that these decisions violate the recommendations made by the Council of Ministers of the
EU to the Member States on 8 March 2003, according to which interception, surveillance, searches and
confiscation should not be used to circumvent the right of journalists not to reveal their sources?

Does it not consider the decisions by the Court of Perugia to run contrary to the renowned Goodwin
ruling handed down by the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which gave legal substance to
journalists’ right to the professional secret.

Does it not consider the decisions by the Court of Perugia also to run contrary to ruling No 33400/96 of
the Strasbourg court, which deems searches conducted with the intention of discovering journalists’
sources to be an outright violation of the freedom of expression?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(2 December 2003)

The search carried out at the head office of ‘Il Giornale’ by order of the Perugia public prosecutor’s office is
the sole responsibility of the national authorities responsible for organising the justice system in Italy.
Given that Community law is not at issue here, the Commission takes the view that it is not in a position
to answer the questions raised by the Honourable Member.

It should be noted that anybody who considers that his fundamental rights have been infringed may take
the matter to the European Court of Human Rights once all domestic legal remedies have been exhausted.

(2004/C 78 E/0243)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3219/03

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Recognition of fire regulations in the EU

(31 October 2003)

With regard to the fireproofing of fabrics there seems to be confusion over the recognition of different
standard marks from EU countries.

Would the Commission confirm that the British standard mark number for the fireproofing of fabric,
BS5867 PART 2B, is equivalent to the French mark number M1?