Activites

• 1999/04/14 Final act published in Official Journal
• 1999/01/14 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T4-0035/1999 summary

    In its Resolution on the Commission's communication on commercial communications drafted by Ms. Jessica LARIVE (NL, ELDR), the European Parliament welcomed the Green Paper but was of the opinion that the actions proposed must be adjusted and made more specific on a number of points. It stressed that cross-border commercial communications must be based on mutual recognition and agreed that whenever national sensitivities are too divergent for mutual recognition to apply, the issues should, whenever possible be addressed by self-regulation. It therefore called upon the European Advertising and Standard Alliance to establish and manage a database on self-regulatory codes. The EP noted the addition of a criterion to the methodology relecting the recognition of cultural and social differences in the Member States, but considered that this should not be used to justify existing or new restrictions on cross-border commercial communications. It pointed out that Member States seeking to implement restrictions on the basis of cultural or social specificity must prove that it is a measure invoked in the general interest and that the measure is proportionate to its objective. It stressd that the risk of renationalisation must be prevented and stressed the need for mandatory application of the methodology. The Parliament asked the Commission to propose mandatory time limits with the aim of reaching a decision to refer cases brought under Article 169 to the European Court of Justice within 12 months as from the conclusion of the 'pre-169 phase' - in which the Commission must apply the methodology to assess whether a formal Article 169 infringement procedure will be initiated and which should be limited to 6 months after the date of registration of a complaint. It also called on the Commission to: - make the complete legal arguments on a specific case known to the complainant and to provide for the possibility for the complainant to challenge this opinion before a final decision is taken on whether to formally pursue a complaint; - establish a register of complaints, accessible to interested parties and available from the Internet, which contains all complaints registered with the Commission - subject to the complainant's consent - and all relevant information regarding progress made in the handling of those cases under the infringmenet procedure - reasons for admissibility, etc.; - specify more clearly the functions and tasks of the Expert Group, to make sure that the pending infringement cases will be discussed within the Expert Group, to guarantee independence and transparency of the debate in the Expert Group, in particular preparation and publication of the agenda, publication of the minutes and minority opinions, and strict observance of time limits; - conduct studies on 'sponsoring at schools' and on 'children and tv advertising', to publish the results as soon as possible and to take the outcome of such studies into account during the next revision of the TV without Frontiers Directive.�

• 1999/01/13 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 1998/12/08 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A4-0503/1998
• #2130
• 1998/11/09 Council Meeting
  • 2130
• #2094
• 1998/05/18 Council Meeting
  • 2094
• 1998/05/11 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• #2084
• 1998/04/23 Council Meeting
  • 2084
• #2079
• 1998/03/30 Council Meeting
  • 2079
• 1998/03/04 Non-legislative basic document published
  • COM(1998)0121 summary

    OBJECTIVE: to follow up the Green Paper of May 1996 on Commercial Communications in the Internal Market. SUBSTANCE: the communication summarises the numerous replies received by the Commission (433 altogether) following the publication of its Green Paper, and sets out its approach, the aim of which is to facilitate the cross-border provision of commercial communication services and establish a framework for European policy in this field. More particularly, the Commission proposes the following measures: 1) The application of a transparent assessment methodology: when examining the compatibility of a restriction to cross-border commercial communications with internal market principles, the Commission will apply the assessment methodology described in the Green Paper (i.e. first stage: analysis of the impact of the measure in question, second stage: legal assessment), adding two criteria in order to take account of cultural and social differences between Member States and the need to ensure consistency with all public-interest objectives; 2) Setting up a Commercial Communication Expert Group: this group will be asked to establish transparent and efficient administrative cooperation between the Commission and Member States and a dialogue with interested third parties; 3) Making available a Commercial Communications contact point and information network: a central contact point will be established within the Directorate-General for the Internal Market and Financial Services, which will work closely with the other Directorates-General involved. A website will facilitate exchanges of information; 4) Establishing a Commercial Communications Database: this will cover national and Community regulations in this field and self-regulatory codes; 5) Accelerating complaint processing: the Commission will attempt to reduce delays in handling complaints, using the proportionality assessment methodology where appropriate; 6) Setting up a network of academic experts: a representative group of academic experts will assist the Commission in its work and deliver opinions on specific issues; 7) Promoting international cooperation: the Commission will defend its approach in international negotiations; 8) Clarifying electronic commerce issues: in certain areas where there is legal uncertainty, the Commission will propose clarification in the context of a proposal relating to electronic commerce and associated information society services; 9) Keeping the European Parliament informed: the Commission will inform Parliament about the application of this approach (including an evaluation of the work carried out and an update of the work programme). The Commission will apply this approach to four key areas where national regulations on commercial communications diverge significantly and therefore potentially give rise to internal market barriers: protection of minors, unfair competition, sponsorship and misleading claims.�

Documents

• Non-legislative basic document published: COM(1998)0121
• Debate in Council: 2079
• Debate in Council: 2084
• Debate in Council: 2094
• Debate in Council: 2130
• Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A4-0503/1998
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0035/1999

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)