(2004/C 70 E/126)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2653/03

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(28 August 2003)

Subject:   Telekom Serbia affair: explanation by President Prodi to Europe

In recent months circumstances have emerged in Italy — both in the context of the work of the Parliamentary Committee of Enquiry into Telekom Serbia and in the course of the judicial investigation launched by the Turin Public Prosecutor into the alleged bribes paid in this affair — which, if they prove objectively to be true, would involve the liability of the Italian Prime Minister at the time, Romano Prodi.

In order to safeguard the image of the Community institutions and to dispel any doubt as to the transparency and appropriateness of his conduct, does President Prodi not intend, as in the case of Cirio-SME, to provide a public and detailed explanation of his role in the Telekom Serbia operation, proceeds from which enabled the Serbian dictator Milosevic and his power group to proceed with the military operations that brought disaster to Serbia?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(17 September 2003)

As the Honourable Member knows, the circumstances of the transaction and the steps taken in the case are being investigated in Italy by a parliamentary committee of inquiry, which was set up by Act No 99 of 21 May 2002. When it has completed its work, the committee is to submit a report to the Italian Parliament, in which it is barred from considering ‘foreign policy choices made by the Government’.

The circumstances of the acquisition of the stake in Telekom Serbia are also being investigated by public prosecutors in Turin, who are seeking to establish whether bribes were paid.

On this latter aspect, on the basis of accusations made by a person currently in prison, Mr Prodi and other members of the Government in office at that time, which he headed, are the target of a fierce political campaign being waged against them in Italy.

In response to these allegations Mr Prodi's lawyers are already taking the legal steps necessary to protect his good name and to ensure that those who have been throwing mud are brought to account for their actions.

The Italian Parliament's committee of inquiry and the prosecutors in Turin are well aware of what they have to do to establish the truth, and Mr Prodi is fully confident that that will be enough to put an end to this shameful slander.

Turning to the second part of the question, Mr Prodi is fully conscious of the duties and responsibilities of those who hold public office; he said some time ago, and in public, that he would be prepared to appear before the bodies empowered to carry out such investigations in order to provide any clarification that might be useful.

Mr Prodi has also explained, in public, what he will tell the parliamentary committee if and when he is asked to appear: that the acquisition by Telecom Italia of a stake in Telekom Serbia was not brought to his attention, either as a private citizen or in his capacity as Prime Minister, ever, by anybody, in any form, directly or indirectly, and that there was no reason of either form or substance why it should have been.

In any event, in order to give a direct answer to the questions raised by the Honourable Member, the President has decided to offer a detailed reconstruction of the arguments, the facts and the procedures followed in the case by the Italian Government which he headed. The documentation was made available to the public and the press on 9 September 2003, on the website http://europa.eu.int/comm/ commissioners/prodi. The Honourable Member will find a complete copy attached to this answer.

As he said in the analogous case rightly cited by the Honourable Member, President Prodi is convinced that anyone who holds public office has a duty to be open in their dealings. It is a duty he has never avoided, either in Italy, or, now, in Europe.