I’m publishing a letter signed by the senators and deputies of Italia dei Valori and addressed to the President of the Council, Romano Prodi, and the Minister of Communications, Paolo Gentiloni with a copy sent to the President of the Democratic Party, Walter Veltroni, about the issue of Europa 7 and the use of the State Advocacy Service that was done during the time of the Prodi government.

”Dear President and Honoured Friends and Colleagues,
On 31 January 2008, the European Court of Justice gave its decision in the case that saw the private broadcaster Europa 7 against the Ministry of Communications. It found against the Italian system of assigning frequencies for the activity of TV broadcasting.

According to the Luxembourg Court the system for assigning frequencies in Italy does not respect the principle of the freedom of providing services and it does not follow objective selection criteria that are transparent, non-discriminatory and proportional.

Already in November 2002, the Constitutional Court, with verdict number 466, established that Retequattro had to definitively stop terrestrial broadcasting by 31 December 2003.

The verdict 466/2002 of the Constitutional Court has been repeatedly not observed, first with the “saveRete4” law of 24 December 2003, and then with the approval in 2004 of the Gasparri law and finally, during the XV legislature with the failure to approve a law that affirms the pluralism of information in Italy.

Today we have learned that the State Advocacy Service, during the time of the Prodi government, has maintained the same line of conduct that was held during the previous term of the Berlusconi government, in fact expressing itself to be in favour of an advantage to the Mediaset channels, and thus in violation of the principles of freedom of competition and the pluralism of information.

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