Fight over Commission bid to govern commercial speech.

Publication: On The Plate

Publication Date: 23-JAN-04

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COPYRIGHT 2004 Consumer Alert

(The full version of the article appeared in the EU Reporter - The Journal of European Business, 19-23 January 2004)

Despite aggressive European Commission lobbying, a proposal for nutrition and health claim labeling and advertising has raised the specter of a greatly expanded Commission role in controlling speech and substituting the EC's judgment for that of consumers. Critics of the proposal also have raised potential legal issues, such as proportionality - especially, whether the solution to the purported problem takes a more draconian approach than needed - and whether the proposal complies with guidelines of Codex Alimentarius, the international food standard-setting body.

As Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, David Byrne is the point-man for...

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