CJEU AG finds the Italian legislation on media concentrations not compatible with EU law

According to the AG, even if the restrictions placed by the Italian legislation pursue an overriding reason in the public interest, namely the protection of pluralism, capable of justifying an interference with the freedom of establishment, such measures must in any case be proportionate to such goal. Even if it is for national courts to assess the proportionality of the restrictions at issue, in the view of AG Campos Sánchez-Bordona the Italian legislation – as interpreted by the Italian Communications Authority – defines too restrictively the electronic communications sector, excluding markets which have become new means for accessing media, such as retail mobile telephone services, Internet-related electronic communications services and satellite broadcasting services. Also, the AG doubts that the 10% threshold of revenues in the SIC for companies accounting revenues for more than 40% of the overall revenues of the electronic communications sector is proportionate to the aim pursued. Finally, the AG considers that calculating the revenues of affiliated companies as if they were controlled ones is a disproportionate measure as well, at least to the extent that, depending on the distribution of voting rights, a company might not necessarily exert a considerable influence on the other one.