EU court action looms on six fronts
The European Commission threatened yesterday to take legal action against Greece on about six different fronts unless the country moved ahead with changes to laws in areas relating to sports betting, notaries, road tunnels, opticians and professional drivers. The Commission said that it would take Greece – along with Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg – to an EU court for allowing only their own nationals to practice as notaries. The EU’s executive arm said that the restrictions run contrary to the principle of freedom of establishment. A similar issue has arisen in the field of optical stores. According to Greek law, only holders of optician diplomas can operate optical stores. Legal action is also being taken against Greece for failing to adopt EU directives aimed at improving the safety of road tunnels longer than 500 meters. The Greek government had until June 2006 to adopt stricter guidelines on the number of emergency exits and types of firefighting systems in long tunnels. The Commission also quizzed Greece yesterday in an official request for information on whether its sports betting laws were in line with EU rules. Although the European Commission is not seeking to liberalize the sports gambling market, it has recently been leading an offensive against state monopolies in the sector, which it says keep out newcomers.
