Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 22 September 2011 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesverwaltungsgericht - Germany) - Mesopotamia Broadcast A/S METV (C-244/10), Roj TV A/S (C-245/10) v Bundesrepublik Deutschland

(Joined Cases C-244/10 and C-245/10) ¹

(Directive 89/552/EEC - Television broadcasting activities - Possibility for a Member State to prohibit on its territory the activities of a television broadcaster established in another Member State - Ground based on infringement of the principles of international understanding)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bundesverwaltungsgericht

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Mesopotamia Broadcast A/S METV (C-244/10), Roj TV A/S (C-245/10)

Defendant: Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling - Bundesverwaltungsgericht - Interpretation of Article 2a and 22a of Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by Law, Regulation or Administrative Action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities (OJ 1989 L 298, p. 23), as amended by Directive 97/36/EC of 30 June 1997 (OJ 1997 L 202, p. 60) - Prohibition of an activity, opposed by the authorities of a Member State, of a television broadcaster established in another Member State for infringement of the principles of international understanding - Exclusion from the power of the recipient Member State of the ability to prevent, in its territory, television broadcasts from other Member States for reasons which fall within the fields coordinated by Directive 89/552/EEC - Admissibility of the infringement of the principles of international understanding as a ground for prohibition falling within the fields coordinated by that directive

Operative part of the judgment

Article 22a of Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities, as amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1997, must be interpreted as meaning that facts such as those at issue in the disputes in the main proceedings, covered by a rule of national law prohibiting infringement of the principles of international understanding, must be regarded as being included in the concept of 'incitement to hatred on grounds of race, sex, religion or nationality'. That article does not preclude a Member State from adopting measures against a broadcaster established in another Member State, pursuant to a general law such as the Law governing the public law of associations (Gesetz zur Regelung des öffentlichen Vereinsrechts), of 5 August 1964, as amended by Paragraph 6 of the Law of 21 December 2007, on the ground that the activities and objectives of that broadcaster run counter to the prohibition of the infringement of the principles of international understanding, provided that those measures do not prevent retransmission per se on the territory of the receiving Member State of television broadcasts made by that broadcaster from another Member State, this being a matter to be determined by the national court.

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¹ - OJ C 234, 28.8.2010.