Athens insists ban on toy ads protects young

Date: 08/02/1996

By Fiona McHugh

GREECE has moved to head off European Commission threats of court action over its ban on toy advertisements, claiming it was introduced to protect minors and not local industry.

In a long-awaited letter, the Greek government insists the measure, which prohibits toy advertisements from being shown on television between 7am and 10pm, does not breach EU law.

“We reminded the Commission that the Television Without Frontiers Directive does, in fact, give member states some leeway when it comes to protecting public interest,” said one Greek diplomat, adding that the letter cited various legal precedents for such measures.

The Commission has threatened to take Greece to the European Court of Justice for breaching internal market rules, but agreed to hold fire to allow Athens time to present its case.

Opponents of the ban claim it favours local manufacturers who, prior to its introduction, lost market share to large international firms because they could not afford the high rates charged for television advertisment space.

Greek manufacturers boast of increased sales since the ban came into force, but diplomats deny the measure was meant to protect domestic toy-makers from outside competition.

“How can they say that there is discrimination between foreign and Greek toy firms? The ban applies to them both,” said one.

Greece is not the only EU member state to ban toy advertisements.

Belgium, Sweden and Ireland have similar laws restricting broadcasts within their territories. Sweden's campaign to bolster its ban is likely to bear fruit next week when MEPs are expected to back an amendment to the broadcasting directive which would allow member states to block broadcasts which break their national laws.