Eurovisioni XXXVIII
What digital sovereignty for audiovisual Europe?
Thursday 20 and Friday 21 November 2025
Palazzo Farnese – French Embassy in Rome
Piazza Farnese 67 – Rome
(national day Friday 21 November)
The 38th edition of Eurovisioni, an international film and television festival and conference, came to a close in Rome at the Palazzo Farnese, headquarters of the French Embassy.
The first day, Thursday 20 November, was devoted to Italian issues and ended with a call for politicians to take swift action to reform the RAI and for the RAI itself to improve the quality of its programming for the public, particularly young people, who, having lost touch with the written press, are in danger of losing touch with television and radio as well.
The legislation that needs to be amended as a matter of urgency was discussed in the morning, chaired by Barbara Florida, chair of the parliamentary committee overseeing RAI, and moderated by Duilio Giammaria, host of the programme “Petrolio” , Senator Maurizio Gasparri, signatory of Forza Italia’s bill, Senator Dolores Bevilacqua, signatory of the Five Star Movement’s reform proposal, and Senator Silvia Fregolent of Italia Viva, as well as PD MP Stefano Graziano, group leader on the oversight committee, Vincenzo Vita, head of media at AVS, and Roberto Natale, member of the RAI board of directors. Senator Nicita (PD), Maurizio Lupi (Noi moderati) and RAI board member Antonio Marano, who had initially confirmed their participation, were unable to attend.
It emerged from the speeches made by the politicians that discussions within Senate Committee VIII are currently at a standstill, as the work of all committees has been suspended due to the plenary session on the finance bill, and that discussions will therefore probably resume in January. They will resume on the basis of the unified text approved by the majority alone, which, according to Gasparri, meets the criteria required by the EMFA (the European Media Freedom Act, which, in Article 5, sets out a series of requirements for national public services). In particular, according to Gasparri, the proposed text provides for the transfer of appointment powers from the government to Parliament and sets out specific procedures for any reductions in the RAI budget. Mr Gasparri therefore argued that the reform bill presented by the majority fully complies with the requirements of the European Media Freedom Act and that, as a result, it can be quickly approved immediately after the discussion of the finance bill. The opposition representatives present (Senator Fregolent of Italia Viva, Vincenzo Vita of AVS, Dolores Bevilacqua of the Five Star Movement, and Stefano Graziano of the PD) expressed a different opinion, recalling that they had presented joint amendments that had not been discussed, and criticised the majority’s proposal, particularly with regard to the pluralism of appointments and the security of resources. According to the opposition representatives, the transfer of appointment powers from the government to Parliament is a fiction, given that the current majority in Parliament carries out the government’s orders and that it would instead be necessary to introduce a qualified majority for appointments to the RAI board of directors (as is the case for the Constitutional Court), so that all parties participate in decisions. The opposition also criticises the majority on the issue of resources, given that the proposed text allows the government to decide on a reduction of up to 27% in the licence fee during a parliamentary term. It is on this last point in particular that the controversy has focused, given that on the eve of this debate, the League tabled an amendment in Parliament aimed at reducing the RAI licence fee by a further 20%, as had already happened in 2024. This amendment was also criticised by Gasparri in his reply. It is a measure that is completely contrary to the spirit and letter of European regulations. For these two reasons, the opposition asked the majority to review these points in the text, in order to avoid approving a law that will almost certainly result in EU infringement proceedings against Italy.
Chairwoman Floridia then forcefully raised the issue of the functioning of the parliamentary committee on RAI, which has been blocked (by reverse filibustering, led by the government and not by the opposition) by the majority for over a year, explaining that this undermines Italian parliamentary democracy, given that the committee she chairs is one of three committees left in practice to the opposition, precisely to guarantee a system of checks and balances essential to democracy. Paralysing its activity amounts to making it impossible for citizens to control how the government manages the RAI.
After the politicians, the debate was opened with representatives of civil society and organisations active in public service, both inside and outside RAI. The President of the FNSI, Vittorio Di Trapani, the Secretary of UsigRAI, Daniele Macheda, and the Secretary General of Infocivica, Piero Pozzi, were present but did not speak. However, board member Roberto Natale did speak, calling for swift action because RAI – in its current situation – is suffering greatly, with consequences that are plain for all to see, such as falling ratings and a loss of public trust.
Stefano Rolando, president of Infocivica, Pier Virgilio Dastoli of the European Movement-Italy, Marco Quaranta for Move On, Sonia Fiucci for Comunicazione Pubblica, Roberto Bertoni for Articolo 21, and Stefano Balassone for Articolo 5 then spoke on behalf of the associations. All criticised the proposal presented by the Lega on the eve of Eurovision to amend the 2026 Budget Law to reduce the licence fee again, expressed solidarity with those who do investigative journalism and are attacked for it, and finally called for the RAI reform law to be passed quickly so that it can return to fully performing its public service mission. Above all, they supported the request to restore the functioning of the Parliamentary Commission on RAI as soon as possible, especially on the eve of crucial choices for Italian democracy, such as the current and upcoming elections and the upcoming referendum on justice.
In the afternoon, under the chairmanship of Luciana Castellina, past president of Eurovisioni – some concrete examples were presented of what the future Digital Media Company (public service) referred to in the RAI Service Contract, which came into force in 2023, might look like, and how this represents the application of the principles contained in the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity, which came into force in 2005 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
In the field of information, the winning investigation of the Morrione Award for investigative journalism, entitled “The Price of Legality”, was presented. It was filmed by three young journalists using digital means and in a sometimes adventurous manner, on the racket of entry permits to Italy for immigrant workers.
On the subject of education and sustainability, Agnes Pleinecassagne of Eutelsat and Stefano Luppi of Tivù presented a preview in Italy of the LOCAT research on the transmission of television programmes and videos. This study compares TV streaming (via internet platforms) with digital terrestrial and satellite broadcasting, showing that streaming consumes 8 to 16 times more electricity and produces 8 to 16 times more CO2 than watching the same programme via digital terrestrial TV broadcasting.
Finally, in the field of entertainment, there was the Roman presentation of Playing Memories, a docu-reality produced by Saint Louis College of Music for Rai digital content broadcast by RaiPlay. The programme reconstructs a training course lasting several months, representing the Neapolitan musical tradition staged by music and performing arts students from Rome and Paris. TV presenter Marco Liorni, Marcello Ciannamea, director of Rai digital content, curator Teresa De Santis, former director of Rai Uno, Nicola Cirilli and Stefano Mastruzzi from Saint Louis spoke about the programme.
At the end of the proceedings, a video message from UNESCO Director-General Ottone on the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention was screened, and a greeting message sent by the President of the Culture Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Federico Mollicone, was read.
The evening ended with the screening, proposed by ARTE, of the international version of “La nostra magnifica ossessione: Bernardo Bertolucci e la sua generazione” (Our Magnificent Obsession: Bernardo Bertolucci and His Generation) by Marco Spagnoli, co-produced by ARTE and Minerva Pictures in collaboration with Rai Documentari. The director, the director of Rai Documentari, Luigi Del Plavignano, and Andrea Curti and Francesca Boselli from Minerva Pictures were present.
OTHER EUROVISIONI PREVIEWS:
During Eurovisioni XXXVIII – thanks to the collaboration with Rai Play and the Research Department – the new anti-disinformation capsules (fifth series, currently available only in Italian) produced by RAI for the IDMO consortium were previewed on both the Italian and international days. The fourth series of clips was also re-released in Italian and English.
On the second day, Rai Cinema offered the Roman public a preview of “The Prompt”, a short film made entirely with the help of artificial intelligence by the company Fantomatica, in the presence of director Francesco Frisari.