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EUROPEAN UNION

Sweden battles to keep child ad ban

Sweden is set to go into battle against the European Commission to preserve the country's ban on television advertisements aimed at children. Consumer Affairs Minister Nyamko Sabuni says she is prepared to take the issue to the European Court.

Sweden battles to keep child ad ban

“It is important to us that children are protected. No other group has such difficulty in guarding itself against advertising,” Sabuni told the Göteborgs-Posten newspaper.

It is illegal for channels broadcasting from Sweden to show advertisements aimes at children under 12.

Sweden has an uphill struggle to maintain the ban. The European Commission says the ban should go as part of the harmonization of consumer law across the 27-member bloc.

But Sabuni and the government say that European law does not require them to scrap the Swedish ban. Sweden will present its formal position in March, according to Göteborgs-Posten.

“We consider that the question is not covered by the EU directive and that we can therefore maintain the ban. The question will simply have to be tried in court. We are ready for the fight,” Sabuni said.