MAY 8, 2000

The FIA and the European Commission

THE European Commission announced at the end of last week that its planned hearing of the issues involved in its dispute with Formula 1 has been delayed following "innovative and constructive" new proposals which have been made by the FIA President Max Mosley.

THE European Commission announced at the end of last week that its planned hearing of the issues involved in its dispute with FormulaÊ1 has been delayed following "innovative and constructive" new proposals which have been made by the FIA President Max Mosley. The European Union Competition Commissioner Mario Monti says the proposals need to be discussed in detail so that a settlement to the dispute can be found.

The Commission has been investigating what it believes is the FIA's abuse of a dominant position. The governing body had rejected the accusations and argued that the commission has no understanding of the sport. Mosley said in February that the EU's case against the FIA was "hopelessly confused" and failed to show that the FIA was breaking any competition rules. Mosley also accused officials in the Competition Directorate of having behaved improperly in its dealings with the case, which has been dragging on since 1994.

With Bernie Ecclestone having sold the rights to the World Rally Championship to David Richards one of the major issues has been solved.