The Journal of Advertising and Marketing Policy and Practice in the European Community

Commercial Communications was launched in 1996 in association with DG Markt (Internal Market and Financial Services) of the European Commission. The purpose of the publication is to provide a forum for open and informed debate on issues that relate to the regulation of all forms of commercial communication within the European Union.

The Commission undertook a review of the sector because it was aware that the vast range of legal differences between Member States as to what was permitted by way of commercial communications called into question whether an Internal Market really existed. Researching the problem with industry identified a number of critical areas and the Commission undertook to look at each in turn.

But good policy depends on good information, and Commercial Communications attempts to provide marketing practitioners, policy makers, industry and consumer bodies with the means to keep in touch with policy developments and the thinking behind these developments. Distributed to every MEP and by subscription to interested parties, it allows all players to comment on policy initiatives as they are being formulated.

The current issue focuses on cross-border sponsorship.