Following a statement by the European Commission today, that it has started formal proceedings againt the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone's FOA, the FIA has released the following statement:

The FIA does not share the European Commission's apparent view that complex competition issues should be pursued through the press. However, the Commission has put out a press release giving its very one-sided version and the FIA has received so many enquiries from the media that a brief response to each point of the Commission's press release is essential.

"1) The FIA uses its power to block series which compete with its own events."

This is quite simply untrue and the Commission will be unable to establish one single example.

"2) The FIA has used this power to force a competing series out of the market."

This is also completely untrue. There was only one such allegation and it has since been withdrawn. In it, two out of three partners wanted to operate the FIA Championship. The other did not. It was a private partnership dispute.

"3) The FIA uses its power abusively to acquire all the television rights to international motorsports events."

This demonstrates a complete failure by the Commission to understand motorsport and television. The vast majority of motorsport events receive no television coverage whatsoever. At the request of a number of its member countries, the FIA sought certain (not all) rights in an attempt to secure better television coverage for a number of minor series.

In Formula One the idea that the FIA used its regulatory power to "force participating teams to transfer to FIA any rights they may have in the broadcasting of the Formula One championship" is utterly ludicrous. After some 50 drafts of the current (Concorde) agreement, the teams (assisted by most of the top City law firms) agreed to sell whatever rights they may have for 47% of the gross Formula One television income before expenses. These expenses are very high, particularly for the digital broadcasts.

"4) FOA and the FIA protect the Formula One championship from competition by tying up everything that is needed to stage a rival championship."

An absurd allegation. The number of circuits and broadcasters involved is very limited. Most circuits and broadcasters have no such contract. The teams can (and do) form special companies if they want to race in other series. In any event, these clauses are never used and an offer to delete them was made a long time ago, but ignored by the Commission.

The Commission should not have leaked (for the second time) confidential documents to the Financial Times before giving them to the intended recipients. Nor should it issue contentious press releases. These are further examples of conduct of the kind which was severely criticised recently by the Committee of Independent Experts established by the European Parliament to investigate maladministration by the European Commission.

The FIA hopes that a rational dialogue can be established with the new Commission. Failing this, these issues will be settled by the European courts over the next three or four years.

The FIA is confident that the final outcome will not, as the current acting competition commissioner appears to hope, result in massive damage to Formula One and other motor sport and, indeed, all sport within the EU.