Brussels, 12/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday the European Commission decided to pursue infringement procedures against those Member States that violate the EU tobacco advertising ban. It decided to refer Italy to the European Court of Justice after the country failed to comply with European legislation despite receiving a warning letter (first warning) sent on 4 April and a reasoned opinion (final warning) on 25 July. In addition, it decided to send "reasoned opinions" to the Czech Republic and Spain, after sending out initial warnings on 4 April. The Czech Republic is continuing to apply a three year derogation to contacts signed before the entry into force of the legislation while in Spain the law authorises three years so sponsoring at sports events. Finally the Commission has sent an additional reasoned opinion to Hungary, following an initial warning sent on 4 April and a reasoned opinion sent on 1 July. This Member State introduced an exception for economically important events for the country. This additional warning is a reaction from the Commission to the response it recently received from the Hungarian authorities. (il)