Greece let off the hook over advertising ban

Date: 09/09/1999

By Peter Chapman

THE outgoing European Commission angered the EU toy industry this week by dropping a five-year-old complaint against Greece over its ban on television advertising.

Commissioners took the decision not to pursue legal action without a vote at their final meeting before bowing out of office, confirming the conclusion they reached informally in July on the ban, which prevents toys from being advertised on Greek television between 7am and 10 pm.

Stephan Luiten, of The Toys Industries of Europe (TIE) lobby group, insisted afterwards that such a politically sensitive decision should not have been taken by the Acting Commissioners at their last meeting.

"We very much regret that the outgoing Commission can take a decision with such implication for the internal market," he said, warning that it could lead to other member states adopting similar restrictions. "It was taken against the background of political trade-offs and interventions by the Greek Commissioner Christos Papoutsis, who has lobbied hard for a closure," he added.

TIE and advertising groups across the Union claimed the ban was a blatant breach of EU single market rules, as it effectively protected established Greek toy makers from foreign competition. They also argued that the measure was not "proportionate" to its aim of protecting Greek youngsters, insisting there was no "unambiguous" scientific evidence to support this. Under EU rules, such bans can be justified if they are shown to be "proportionate' to their stated aim and do not discriminate against foreign firms.

In a letter to the industry, top internal market official John Mogg, , whose department had consistently called for legal action against Athens, said the Commission now believed there was "insufficient evidence" of a breach of EU rules.