Brussels, 13/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Mediator, Nikiforos Diamandouros has just submitted a special report to the European Parliament on the Commission's inactivity in the area of sports betting, in which the freedom to provide services is not guaranteed in all Member States. The Court of Justice ruled that restrictions in order to protect consumers were legitimate but that a Member State could use this to justify a monopoly in sports betting or gambling which it promoted itself. In a complaint to the European Commission, a German provider of sports betting services, who had been ordered by the German authorities to cease his activity, alleged an infringement of EU law, but he received no response for almost two years. Asked about this by the Ombudsman, the Commission said it was unable to reach a political consensus on how to proceed. This is a problem affecting several Member States and the College has not been able to find a consensus to begin infringement proceedings against Germany.
According to the Ombudsman, the Commission is not entitled to delay dealing with an infringement complaint on the grounds that it is unable to find a political consensus on how to proceed. Consequently, the Ombudsman recommends that the Commission should deal with the complainant's infringement complaint diligently and without undue delay. He has submitted a special report on this issue of principle to the European Parliament, in which he asks Parliament for its support. Since the institution began work in 1995, the Ombudsman has issued only 13 special reports. (His special report can be read at: http: //http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/special/pdf/en/050289.pdf )