Bern and the EU: solutions sought in the dispute over advertising bans

The last word has not yet been spoken in the dispute between the EU and Switzerland over the Swiss advertising bans on alcohol, politics and religion. Both sides are looking for a solution and talks between Bern and Brussels are continuing. This is the result of a meeting on the media agreement in Brussels on Friday. Meetings were agreed between broadcasting law experts from Switzerland and the EU, as the head of the delegation and deputy director of the Federal Office for Culture (Bak), Marc Wehrlin, told SDA. The talks are to begin "very quickly". Wehrlin emphasized that these are not new negotiations. The EU Commission and the EU member states had waved goodbye to the subject of renegotiations. Wehrlin does not rule out the possibility that there is some room for interpretation within the EU framework law "Television without Frontiers", which is linked to the Media Agreement.
Because of this directive, which is to apply from 2009, the National Council and Council of States rejected the agreement in December last year and instructed the Federal Council to seek solutions with Brussels in order to save the Swiss advertising bans. From this date, the regulations of the country of origin will apply to advertising in the EU and no longer those of the recipient country. Television advertising windows aimed at Switzerland will then be allowed to advertise alcohol and the like.