WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3033/98 by Gianfranco DELL'ALBA to the Commission. Accusations by Alitalia of an abuse of office to further private interests in the Malpensa affair
C 142/74 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 21. 5. 1999 (1999/C 142/089) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3032/98 by Odile Leperre-Verrier (ARE) to the Commission Subject: Protection of Kosovo’s heritage (8 October 1998) The current fighting in Kosovo is not without its consequences for the country’s cultural heritage, whether civil, religious, Muslim or orthodox. Can the Commission say whether it envisages taking measures to protect Kosovo’s heritage and working with UNESCO to raise the awareness of the international community and promote the development of a consensus between two communities which each have a rich cultural heritage? Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (7 December 1998) The Commission shares the concern of the Honourable Member about the destructive consequences that the conflict in Kosovo had on its civil and religious cultural heritage. As the Honourable Member is aware, the Community is very much involved in the international efforts to reconcile the two communities. However, the Commission does not have the competence to take any measures for the protection of Kosovo’s cultural heritage. The Commission would be willing to consider co-operation with the United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation (Unesco), should this organisation undertake an initiative concerning the matter raised by the Honourable Member. (1999/C 142/090) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3033/98 by Gianfranco Dell’Alba (ARE) to the Commission (8 October 1998) Subject: Accusations by Alitalia of an abuse of office to further private interests in the Malpensa affair On 20 September 1998 Alitalia ran an advertisement in a number of Italian daily newspapers which bore the headline ‘To stop Malpensa from opening some people are playing dirty tricks’, and which went on to allege that ‘they want to cancel everything because of pressure from a number of international airlines seeking to protect their own economic interests’. Alitalia’s criticisms are clearly directed at the Commission’s decision which ruled that the Burlando decree contravened Community law. Alitalia claims the Commission has acted unlawfully (hence the ‘dirty tricks’) in order to protect ‘the economic interests of a number of international airlines’. What action, including legal action, does the Commission intend to take in response to these allegations, which imply that the Commission’s decision in the Malpensa affair arose from an abuse of office to further private interests, and that this involved other crimes such as acts of corruption etc. ? Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (26 November 1998) In its decision of 16 September 1998, the Commission addressed the substantive issues of discrimination and lack of proportionality posed by the air traffic distribution rules then intended for use by the Italian government. This decision was based on Article 8 of Council Regulation (EEC) 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes (1). The intervention of the