Press Release: Commission takes action against Member States breaking the tobacco sponsorship ban

The European Commission decided on 12 October 2006 to pursue infringement procedures against those Member States that violate the EU tobacco advertising ban. It decided to refer Italy to the European Court of Justice for failure to correctly transpose the sponsorship ban for cross-border events. In addition, it decided to send "reasoned opinions" to the Czech Republic and Spain, and an "additional reasoned opinion" to Hungary for failing to correctly transpose the sponsorship ban into national law. These countries already received a “letter of formal notice” in April 2006. They now have two months to comply; otherwise the Commission may resort to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).