WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3610/98 by Gianfranco DELL'ALBA State aid for RAI under the Italian financial law
C 320/58 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 6. 11. 1999 As regards the agenda for the next year, one meeting is planned for March/April 1999 and another for October/November 1999 (depending on the availability of the committee members, meeting rooms and interpreters). The Committee Bureau will meet 6 to 8 times during the year. (1999/C 320/077) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3604/98 by Marco Cellai (NI) to the Commission (3 December 1998) Subject: Fiorentina-Grasshopper football match on 3 November 1998 During the Fiorentina-Grasshopper football match for the second round of the UEFA Cup a device was thrown on to the field. It exploded, injuring one of the players and leading to suspension of the game. The game was being played in the Salerno stadium. Inquiries by the competent authorities, corroborated by harsh statements by the Mayor of Salerno, suggest that the Fiorentina football club behaved correctly but that some fringe groups of local fans, who are being investigated, did not. During the Fiorentina-Salerno match for the Serie A championship the two groups of fans clashed, and it is not therefore unreasonable to think that the act was premeditated to harm Fiorentina. The Mayor of Salerno has said that the maintenance of public order around the football stadium by the Salerno authorities was inadequate. From the data available to the competent authorities it cannot be deduced that Fiorentina was in any way responsible for the incident. UEFA is to take a decision on the subject on 12 November. Does the Commission not consider it advisable to intervene urgently vis-à-vis UEFA in order to ensure that the UEFA Cup is properly organised and to prevent any unfair penalisation of Fiorentina when responsibility can in no way be attributed to it? Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (21 January 1999) The question raised by the Honourable Member relates to events which occurred at a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup football match. It is not for the Commission to get involved in a disciplinary matter which is the responsibility of a sporting organisation. The Commission has often stated that sporting organisations must be free to lay down their own disciplinary rules, which are what gives each sport its particular identity. No Community intervention would be justified unless Community law was infringed, which does not seem to be the point of the question here. (1999/C 320/078) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3610/98 by Gianfranco Dell’Alba (NI) to the Commission (3 December 1998) Subject: State aid for RAI under the Italian financial law In the 1999 financial bill it submitted to parliament, the Italian Government included a subsidy of more than 200 billion for RAI as compensation for revenue the State broadcasting company did not receive from its