Overview
- The upper house paused proceedings for five minutes Wednesday after Vice President Licia Ronzulli ruled that a speech by Barbara Floridia on Rai oversight was off topic, prompting protests from opposition senators.
- President Sergio Mattarella, speaking Tuesday at the Quirinale, called it unacceptable that the Rai oversight commission cannot perform its duties and urged Italy to fix delays in applying the EU Media Information Act.
- The bicameral commission that polices Rai has been largely inactive for about 18 months and met only once in that span, on March 25, to hear CEO Giampaolo Rossi.
- Floridia, who leads the commission, blamed a center-right boycott and said Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has not moved the reform in the budget committee, while majority leaders defended Ronzulli’s ruling as a straightforward application of Senate rules.
- The deadlock leaves Rai without a president since October 2024 and reduces formal scrutiny of the taxpayer-funded broadcaster, and national steps to implement the EU media regulation remain on hold.