ANTITRUST SAYS EX-MINISTER LUNARDI DID NOT BREAK THE LAW ON CONFLICT OF INTEREST
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
ANTITRUST SAYS EX-MINISTER LUNARDI DID NOT BREAK THE LAW ON CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The Italian Competition Authority, at its meeting on 27 July 2006, determined that the former Infrastructure Minister, Pietro Lunardi, did not contravene the law on conflicts of interest in the matter of CIPE's decision to approve the extension of the Naples subway.
The Authority had opened proceedings against the former Minister on 11 April 2006 in order to assess the various implementation steps relating to CIPE's decision, which are summarized below.
The project to complete Line 6 figures as “Napoli metropolitana” (Naples subway) in the “Urban Systems” section of CIPE's document no. 121 of 21 December 2001 which approved the first strategic infrastructure programme under the terms of Article 1 of Law no. 443/2001.
On particolare, l’avvio dell’istruttoria è stato ritenuto opportuno in considerazione del fatto che il 20 June 2005, Metropolitana Milanese S.p.A., the company charged with the engineering design work for Line 6 of the Naples subway (the section from Mostra to Municipio, i.e. Showground to Town Hall) by Metropolitana di Napoli S.p.A, in agreement with Ansaldo Trasporti Sistemi Ferroviari S.p.A., holder of the design and construction concession (from the Municipality of Naples), ha engaged Rocksoil S.p.A. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Immobiliare San Marco S.r.l. which in turn belongs to Giuseppe, Giovanna and Martina Lunardi, the children of Pietro Lunardi, former Minister of Infrastructure and Transport) to participate in the final design of the bored tunnels on the line, the station of delle deChiaia and the completion of the deMergellina station.
Al riguardo rileva in particolare la circostanza per cui la disciplina contrattuale del rapporto tra Metropolitana milanese S.p.A. e Rocksoil S.p.A.Nell’ambito del regolamento contrattuale subordina la corresponsione di una parte del compenso veniva subordinata all’approvazione definitiva dei progetti esecutivi.
At a meeting on 2 December 2005, during a thoroughgoing review of the whole regional public transport system in Campania, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (a member of CIPE), having emphasized the need to prioritise expenditure of the resources foreseen in the government's 2006 Budget, submitted to CIPE a planning report on the works relating to the Naples node, including completion of Line 6 of the subway.
On 29 March 2006, CIPE met to decide, amongst the other matters on the agenda, on the definitive approval of the go-ahead for the works to complete Line 6 of the Naples subway for which Rocksoil S.p.A. had been engaged.
On 17 July 2006, CIPE's secretarial office forwarded to the Authority a copy of the decision of 29 March 2006. This document shows that at that meeting of the Committee, though a positive assessment was expressed as to the ,definitive project to complete Line 6, it was decided to proceed only following a formal decision to accept the definitive approval of the project, and then only after further requests made of the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport were carried out.
o che non viene deliberata l’approvazione del progetto?
Under Law no. 215/2004, an instance of conflict of interest of an economic nature can be demonstrated only in the presence of three factors:
· the participation of a government official in a government act;
· specific preferential benefits to the assets of the officeholder or members of his family;
· damage to the public interest.
As to the first point, the Authority's proceedings ascertained the Infrastructure Minister's participation.
As to the second point, the Authority observed that CIPE's decision no. 75 of 29 March 2006 expresses a “positive assessment regarding the definitive project to complete Line 6 of the Naples subway …but postpones the formal adoption of the definitive approval of that project”,obliging the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport to fulfil further requirements, after which the project was to be submitted once again for CIPE's review, along with a new request for approval by the Minister.
Furthermore, the budgeting of €100 million foreseen in the CIPE decision of 29 March 2006 for the “Naples node” (works including the completion of the station of Montesanto, the Cilea interchange station, the extension of Line 1 towards Capodichino and the completion of Line 6) meant that the actual assignment of that amount would be made only “upon presentation of the definitive plans for the interventions and/or the stages to be financed and an updated version of the economic and financial plans”.
As to the third point, the Authority found no damage to the public interest within the meaning of the law.
CIPE's decision no. 75 of 29 March 2006, then, was not such as to produce specific preferential benefits for the assets of Rocksoil S.p.A.
Rome, 28 July 2006