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The Court of Justice of the European Union annuls one of the cornerstones of the Gasparri Law and is right with Vivendi in the case against AgCom and Mediaset. The prohibition imposed by the Authority on the French group to simultaneously own 24.5% of Tim and 28.8% of Mediaset is contrary to European law, the Strasbourg judges wrote in a sentence of historical significance whose effects will undoubtedly go away beyond the dispute between Vivendi and Mediaset.
Article 43, paragraph 11 of the Consolidated Law. of audiovisual and radio media services (Tusmar), based on Vivendi’s appeal (assisted by lawyers Giuseppe Scassellati-Sforzolini and Ferdinando Emanuele di Cleary Gottlieb), prohibits any company whose income in electronic communications, even through subsidiaries or associates, exceed 40% of the total income of the sector, to achieve income in the integrated communications system (SIC) of more than 10% of the income of the SIC itself. For this reason, AgCom had prohibited Vivendi from owning 29.9% of the voting rights in Mediaset, which already held 24% of Tim. According to the EU Court, this provision constitutes a prohibited obstacle to the freedom of establishment, as it is not adequate to achieve the objective of protecting the pluralism of information. Vivendi satisfied, for whom the sentence shows that he has always acted in strict compliance with Italian law.
The immediate effect of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in fact, the abolition of the prohibition of crossing between media and telecommunications, established by Tusmar. This may reopen the game on the Mediaset shakeup, which Vivendi had already managed to block in court in July. When Biscione resumes the project, the French will be able to express their opinion by voting in the assembly with full participation. But, by bypassing the ban on crossing between media and telecommunications, the Biscione could also change its strategy. If there are opportunities for convergence between the leaders of Tlc and the television edition, Mediaset explained yesterday in a note, we will evaluate with the greatest interest each new opportunity in the Tlc business, based on the recent developments of the system in the single national network. in fiber. On the stock market, Biscione’s shares gained more than 5%.
Therefore, the two games could intersect again. Vivendi already at the table of the single network as Tim’s majority shareholder (over which he could now legitimately exercise control) and second shareholder of Mediaset. In the past, investment banks had tried to build peace between the two groups through a stock exchange. It may not only be a valid solution but probably a necessary one. Certainly, Paris becomes a decisive crossroads for the organization of the media in Italy.
