EU warns Italy over RAI: “The Commission may launch infringement proceedings”

Brussels – Italy is still under observation over the RAI reform. The European Commission is awaiting the government’s next moves, maintaining indicative contacts over the plan to reorganise public TV — a project that, however, does little to dispel lingering doubts. In the European Parliament, MEPs from the Five Star Movement have raised concerns over the potential weakening of the broadcaster, undermining its independence in favour of the ‘Tele Meloni’ project, and breaching the European regulation on media freedom (EMFA). The European Commission has neither confirmed these allegations nor categorically rejected them.

“Exchanges are ongoing between the Commission and all Member States, including Italy, to ensure the effective and correct implementation of the EMFA,” said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President responsible for Technological Sovereignty and Democracy. There is therefore full RAI operability in the checks currently underway, and nothing is ruled out for anyone, not even for Italy. This is because, Virkkunen continues, “as a regulation, the EMFA is directly applicable and can be litigated before national courts, where relevant.” In this regard, “the Commission is monitoring the state of implementation in all Member States and may make use of its powers to bring infringement procedures.”

The reply provided to the Five Star Movement MEPs includes a warning to Italy and the Meloni government: as things stand, the possibility of infringement proceedings over the RAI reform – which does not comply with the requirements of the common rules – has by no means been ruled out. Admittedly, “the EMFA does not prescribe specific governance and funding models, and Member States retain discretion on how to organise these in line with their national specificities,” Virkkunen points out. In other words: there is still room for manoeuvre for political parties and politics to influence public television.