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PARALLEL TEXTS
La Corte respinge le impugnazioni proposte dalla FIFA e dall’UEFA contro sentenze del Tribunale relative alla trasmissione televisiva della Coppa del mondo e dell’EURO
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-92_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-92_it.htm
Data documento: 18-07-2013
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The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal brought by FIFA and UEFA against the judgments of the General Court on television broadcasts of the World Cup and the EURO
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La Corte respinge le impugnazioni proposte dalla FIFA e dall’UEFA contro sentenze del Tribunale relative alla trasmissione televisiva della Coppa del mondo e dell’EURO
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Although those judgments are vitiated by errors of law, those errors did not have any impact in the present cases
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Sebbene tali sentenze siano viziate da errori di diritto, tali errori non hanno inciso sulle presenti cause
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The directive concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities authorises the Member States to prohibit the exclusive broadcasting of events which they deem to be of major importance for society, where such broadcasts would deprive a substantial proportion of the public of the possibility of following those events on free television.
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La direttiva relativa all’esercizio delle attività televisive consente agli Stati membri di vietare la trasmissione in esclusiva degli eventi che essi considerano di particolare rilevanza per la società, quando una trasmissione di questo genere priverebbe una parte importante del pubblico della possibilità di seguire tali eventi su canali liberamente accessibili.
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The Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) organises the final stage of the football World Cup (‘the World Cup’) and the Union des associations européennes de football (UEFA) organises the final stage of the European football championship (‘the EURO’).
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La Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) organizza la fase finale della Coppa del mondo di calcio («la Coppa del mondo») e l'Union des associations européennes de football (UEFA) organizza la fase finale del campionato d’Europa di calcio (l'«EURO»).
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Sales of television broadcasting rights for those competitions make up a significant part of their revenues.
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La vendita dei diritti televisivi di tali competizioni costituisce una fonte considerevole dei loro redditi.
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Belgium and the United Kingdom each drew up a list of the events they regarded as being of major importance for society in their respective states.
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Il Belgio e il Regno Unito hanno redatto rispettivamente un elenco degli eventi considerati di particolare rilevanza per la loro società.
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Those lists contained, inter alia, in the case of Belgium, all the matches in the final stage of the World Cup and, in the case of the United Kingdom, all the matches in the final stage of the World Cup and the EURO.
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Tali elenchi contenevano in particolare, per il Belgio, tutte le partite della fase finale della Coppa del mondo, e per il Regno Unito, tutte le partite della fase finale della Coppa del mondo e dell’EURO.
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Those lists were sent to the Commission, which decided that they were compatible with European Union law.
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Detti elenchi sono stati trasmessi alla Commissione che ha deciso che erano compatibili con il diritto dell’Unione.
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FIFA and UEFA challenged those decisions before the General Court, arguing that not all those matches could constitutes events of major importance for the general public in those States.
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La FIFA e l'UEFA hanno impugnato tali decisioni dinanzi al Tribunale, contestando il fatto che tutte queste partite possano costituire eventi di particolare rilevanza per il pubblico di detti Stati.
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The General Court dismissed their actions, which led them to lodge appeals before the Court of Justice.
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Poiché il Tribunale ha respinto i loro ricorsi, esse hanno presentato impugnazione dinanzi alla Corte di giustizia.
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In today’s judgments, the Court of Justice notes, first of all, that the designation by a Member State of certain events as being of major importance for society and the prohibition on their exclusive broadcasting constitute obstacles to the freedom to provide services, the freedom of establishment, the freedom of competition and the right to property.
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Nelle sue odierne sentenze, la Corte ricorda, innanzitutto, che il fatto che uno Stato membro designi taluni eventi alla stregua di eventi di particolare rilevanza per la sua società e il divieto di trasmetterli in esclusiva costituiscono ostacoli alla libera prestazione dei servizi, alla libertà di stabilimento, alla libera concorrenza e al diritto di proprietà.
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However, such obstacles are justified by the objective of protecting the right to information and ensuring wide public access to television coverage of those events.
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Tuttavia, siffatti ostacoli sono giustificati dalla finalità di proteggere il diritto all’informazione e di assicurare un ampio accesso del pubblico alla copertura televisiva di tali eventi.
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In that context, the Court points out that it is for the Member States alone to determine the events which are of major importance and that the Commission’s role in that respect is limited to determining whether the Member States have complied with European Union law in exercising their discretion.
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In questo contesto, la Corte sottolinea che la determinazione degli eventi in questione spetta unicamente agli Stati membri e che in questo ambito il ruolo della Commissione si limita a verificare se essi abbiano rispettato il diritto dell’Unione nell’esercizio del loro potere discrezionale.
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Thus, if an event has validly been designated by a Member State as being of major importance, the Commission is to carry out only a limited review of that designation and is required, in particular, to examine only the effects thereof on the freedoms and rights recognised under European Union law which exceed those which are intrinsically linked to such a designation.
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Pertanto, quando uno Stato membro ha validamente designato un evento come evento di particolare rilevanza, la Commissione deve esercitare un controllo limitato su tale designazione ed è tenuta ad esaminare solamente i suoi effetti sulle libertà e sui diritti riconosciuti dal diritto dell’Unione che si spingono oltre agli effetti intrinsecamente connessi a tale qualificazione.
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Next, the Court notes that not all the matches in the final stage of the World Cup and the EURO are of equal importance for the general public, which tends to attach particular importance to decisive matches between the best teams – such as the final and semi?finals – and those involving the national team.
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La Corte rileva poi che non tutte le partite della fase finale della Coppa del mondo e dell’EURO rivestono pari importanza per il pubblico, giacché esso dedica un’attenzione particolare alle partite decisive delle squadre migliori – come la finale o le semifinali – e a quelle che coinvolgono la squadra nazionale.
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Consequently, those tournaments must be regarded as events which are, in principle, divisible into different matches or stages, not all of which are necessarily capable of being characterised as an event of major importance.
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Pertanto, questi tornei devono essere considerati eventi in linea di principio divisibili in diverse partite o fasi, di cui non tutte necessariamente rientrano nella qualifica di evento di particolare rilevanza.
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In that regard, the Court also states that, contrary to the grounds given in the judgments under appeal, the Member States are required to communicate to the Commission the reasons justifying why they consider that the final stage of the World Cup or the EURO constitutes, in its entirety, a single event of major importance for society in the States concerned.
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In questo contesto la Corte dichiara altresì che, a dispetto del ragionamento illustrato nelle sentenze del Tribunale, gli Stati membri sono tenuti a comunicare alla Commissione le ragioni che li hanno indotti a ritenere che la fase finale dell’EURO costituisca un evento unico che deve essere considerato in toto come di particolare rilevanza per la loro società.
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However, those errors did not have any impact in the present cases.
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Tuttavia, questi errori non hanno inciso sulle presenti cause.
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The General Court found, on the basis of the information provided by FIFA and UEFA and in the light of the actual perception of the public in the United Kingdom and Belgium, that all the matches in the final stages of those two tournaments actually attracted sufficient attention from the public to form part of an event of major importance.
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Infatti il Tribunale ha constatato, sulla base degli elementi forniti dalla FIFA e dall’UEFA e alla luce della concreta percezione del pubblico del Regno Unito e del Belgio, che tutte le partite della fase finale di entrambi i tornei in parola suscitavano effettivamente, presso tale pubblico, un interesse sufficiente da poter costituire un evento di particolare rilevanza.
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In particular, it is apparent from the file, first, that those tournaments, in their entirety, have always been very popular among the general public and not only viewers who generally follow football matches on television.
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Dal fascicolo risultava, segnatamente, che, da un lato, tali tornei, nella loro interezza, sono sempre stati particolarmente popolari non solamente presso i telespettatori che seguono solitamente le partite di calcio in televisione, ma anche per il pubblico generale.
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Second, those competitions have traditionally been broadcast on free television channels in those Member States.
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Dall’altro lato, tali competizioni sono sempre state trasmesse su canali televisivi di libero accesso.
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Finally, the Court finds that, given the Commission’s limited power of review of the designation by a Member State of an event as being of major importance and the in?depth knowledge of broadcasters of the grounds underlying such a designation, it is permissible for the Commission to indicate only succinct grounds for its decision on the list of events of major importance drawn up by a Member State.
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Infine, la Corte dichiara che, considerato il potere limitato di cui dispone la Commissione in materia di controllo sulla designazione da parte di uno Stato membro di un evento come evento di particolare rilevanza, nonché le conoscenze approfondite delle emittenti quanto ai motivi alla base di siffatta designazione, la Commissione può motivare in modo succinto la sua decisione in merito all’elenco degli eventi di particolare rilevanza redatto da uno Stato membro.
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Moreover, where the effects of such a designation on the freedom to provide services, the freedom of competition and the right to property do not go beyond those which are intrinsically linked to the classification of the event concerned as being of major importance, it is not necessary to provide specific grounds for concluding that it is compatible with European Union law.
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Inoltre, quando gli effetti di tale designazione sulla libera circolazione dei servizi, sulla libera concorrenza e sul diritto di proprietà non si spingono oltre agli effetti intrinsecamente connessi alla qualificazione dell’evento in oggetto come evento di particolare rilevanza, non è necessario motivare specificamente la sua compatibilità con il diritto dell’Unione.
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In the present case, it has not been shown that the effects on the freedoms and rights recognised by European Union law of the designation of the final stages of the World Cup and the EURO, in their entirety, as events of major importance were excessive.
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Orbene, nel caso di specie non è stato dimostrato che la designazione dell’intera fase finale della Coppa del mondo e dell’EURO come eventi di particolare rilevanza produca effetti sulle libertà e sui diritti riconosciuti dal diritto dell’Unione che presentino un tale carattere eccessivo.
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In those circumstances, the Court dismisses the appeals brought by FIFA and UEFA in their entirety.
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In tali circostanze, la Corte respinge interamente le impugnazioni proposte dalla FIFA e dall’UEFA.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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An appeal, on a point or points of law only, may be brought before the Court of Justice against a judgment or order of the General Court.
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Avverso le sentenze o ordinanze del Tribunale può essere presentata impugnazione alla Corte di giustizia, limitatamente alle questioni di diritto.
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In principle, the appeal does not have suspensive effect.
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In linea di principio, l'impugnazione non ha effetti sospensivi.
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If the appeal is admissible and well founded, the Court of Justice sets aside the judgment of the General Court.
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Se essa è ricevibile e fondata, la Corte annulla la decisione del Tribunale.
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Where the state of the proceedings so permits, the Court of Justice may itself give final judgment in the case.
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Nel caso in cui la causa sia matura per essere decisa, la Corte stessa può pronunciarsi definitivamente sulla controversia;
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Otherwise, it refers the case back to the General Court, which is bound by the decision given by the Court of Justice on the appeal.
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in caso contrario, rinvia la causa al Tribunale, vincolato dalla decisione emanata dalla Corte in sede di impugnazione.
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal brought by FIFA and UEFA against
the judgments of the General Court on television broadcasts of the World Cup and
the EURO
Although those judgments are vitiated by errors of law, those
errors did not have any impact in the present cases
The directive concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting
activities authorises the Member States to prohibit the exclusive broadcasting
of events which they deem to be of major importance for society, where such
broadcasts would deprive a substantial proportion of the public of the
possibility of following those events on free television.
The Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) organises
the final stage of the football World Cup (‘the World Cup’) and the Union des
associations européennes de football (UEFA) organises the final stage of the
European football championship (‘the EURO’).
Sales of television broadcasting rights for those competitions make up
a significant part of their revenues.
Belgium and the United Kingdom each drew up a list of the events they
regarded as being of major importance for society in their respective states.
Those lists contained, inter alia, in the case of Belgium, all the
matches in the final stage of the World Cup and, in the case of the United
Kingdom, all the matches in the final stage of the World Cup and the EURO.
Those lists were sent to the Commission, which decided that they were
compatible with European Union law.
FIFA and UEFA challenged those decisions before the General Court,
arguing that not all those matches could constitutes events of major importance
for the general public in those States.
The General Court dismissed their actions, which led them to lodge
appeals before the Court of Justice.
In today’s judgments, the Court of Justice notes, first of all, that
the designation by a Member State of certain events as being of major importance
for society and the prohibition on their exclusive broadcasting constitute
obstacles to the freedom to provide services, the freedom of establishment, the
freedom of competition and the right to property.
However, such obstacles are justified by the objective of protecting
the right to information and ensuring wide public access to television coverage
of those events.
In that context, the Court points out that it is for the Member States
alone to determine the events which are of major importance and that the
Commission’s role in that respect is limited to determining whether the Member
States have complied with European Union law in exercising their discretion.
Thus, if an event has validly been designated by a Member State as
being of major importance, the Commission is to carry out only a limited review
of that designation and is required, in particular, to examine only the effects
thereof on the freedoms and rights recognised under European Union law which
exceed those which are intrinsically linked to such a designation.
Next, the Court notes that not all the matches in the final stage of
the World Cup and the EURO are of equal importance for the general public, which
tends to attach particular importance to decisive matches between the best teams
– such as the final and semi?finals – and those involving the national team.
Consequently, those tournaments must be regarded as events which are,
in principle, divisible into different matches or stages, not all of which are
necessarily capable of being characterised as an event of major importance.
In that regard, the Court also states that, contrary to the grounds
given in the judgments under appeal, the Member States are required to
communicate to the Commission the reasons justifying why they consider that the
final stage of the World Cup or the EURO constitutes, in its entirety, a single
event of major importance for society in the States concerned.
However, those errors did not have any impact in the present cases.
The General Court found, on the basis of the information provided by
FIFA and UEFA and in the light of the actual perception of the public in the
United Kingdom and Belgium, that all the matches in the final stages of those
two tournaments actually attracted sufficient attention from the public to form
part of an event of major importance.
In particular, it is apparent from the file, first, that those
tournaments, in their entirety, have always been very popular among the general
public and not only viewers who generally follow football matches on television.
Second, those competitions have traditionally been broadcast on free
television channels in those Member States.
Finally, the Court finds that, given the Commission’s limited power of
review of the designation by a Member State of an event as being of major
importance and the in?depth knowledge of broadcasters of the grounds underlying
such a designation, it is permissible for the Commission to indicate only
succinct grounds for its decision on the list of events of major importance
drawn up by a Member State.
Moreover, where the effects of such a designation on the freedom to
provide services, the freedom of competition and the right to property do not go
beyond those which are intrinsically linked to the classification of the event
concerned as being of major importance, it is not necessary to provide specific
grounds for concluding that it is compatible with European Union law.
In the present case, it has not been shown that the effects on the
freedoms and rights recognised by European Union law of the designation of the
final stages of the World Cup and the EURO, in their entirety, as events of
major importance were excessive.
In those circumstances, the Court dismisses the appeals brought by FIFA
and UEFA in their entirety.
NOTE:
An appeal, on a point or points of law only, may be brought before the
Court of Justice against a judgment or order of the General Court.
In principle, the appeal does not have suspensive effect.
If the appeal is admissible and well founded, the Court of Justice sets
aside the judgment of the General Court.
Where the state of the proceedings so permits, the Court of Justice may
itself give final judgment in the case.
Otherwise, it refers the case back to the General Court, which is bound
by the decision given by the Court of Justice on the appeal.
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