Germany bows to pressure and stops tobacco advertising

Directive 2003/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products, bans tobacco advertising in the print media, on radio and over the internet in Europe. It outlaws advertising at international sports events, whereas it still allows for tobacco sponsorship at events which are purely local, with participants coming from only one member state. But advertising in cinemas and on billboards or using merchandising falls outside its scope. On Television, tobacco advertising has been outlawed since 1990 by the TV without Frontiers directive. 

Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, and Hungary remain the only countries which have not implemented the tobacco advertising directive into national law. 

In September 2003 the German government asked the ECJ to review the validity of the Directive. Germany argues that EU lawmakers exceeded their powers under the internal market provisions of the EU Treaty (Article 95) in passing it. Germany claims that the legal basis chosen for the directive was incorrect and continues to allow tobacco advertising in newspapers and the internet. 

In parallel to the challenge by the German government, the owners of the Nürburgring motor racing circuit have lodged a challenge with the Court of First Instance claiming that the ban on tobacco sponsorship will unlawfully cause them economic damage.

On 14 June 2006, the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) Advocate General recommended to the Court to dismiss the action brought before it by Germany, which is seeking to partially annul the directive of May 2003 on advertising and sponsorships of tobacco products in media other than television. The Advocate General's Opinion argues that the legal basis for the directive was correct. 

The Advocate General's Opinion is not binding on the ECJ, but in most cases the Court adopts it. The ECJ Judges are now set to start their deliberations in this case in view of a judgement at a later stage.