Score-draw gets Berlusconi off hook in Euro Parliament vote

(STRASBOURG) - A bid to force through tough new media ownership rules across Europe, inspired by lawmakers angry at Italian magnate Silvio Berlusconi's alleged press bullying, fell short by a single vote on Wednesday.

"One vote was all that was missing," said liberal Italian European Parliament member Niccolo Rinaldi after deputies tied a vote on a final motion 338-338 -- to wild delight among Berlusconi's conservative grouping.

Debate on the issue in Brussels earlier this month was marked by yelling matches, insults and theatrical walkouts, with Italian lawmakers siding with their leader after failing to have the session cancelled.

Wednesday's vote follows months of revelations about Berlusconi's private life which have spurred the prime minister-cum-media tycoon to file a series of lawsuits against newspapers in Italy, France and Spain.

Berlusconi has been dogged by scandals over his private life, from questions over his relationship with an aspiring teen model to allegations involving call girls.

Supporters of tighter media ownership rules warn that media ownership in Europe is becoming concentrated in fewer hands, particularly in the broadcast sector.

Berlusconi owns the three biggest commercial television stations, controls state television, owns a newspaper with his family, a major news magazine Panorama, a huge publishing house and an advertising agency.

Sonia Alfano of the resolution's liberal sponsors said the result was "neither a victory, nor a defeat," but the Greens in the European Parliament said it marked "a black day for press freedom in Europe."

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