Opinion of Advocate General Bot, Mesopotamia Broadcast A/S METV and Roj TV A/S v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Joined Cases C‑244/10 and C‑245/10, CJEU (Third Chamber), 5 May 2011

Incitement to violence and support for terrorist activity through television programmes. Concept of incitement to hatred within the meaning of Art. 22a of Directive 89/552/EEC.

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

The fact that Article 22a of Directive 89/552/EEC refers to “race” and “nationality” as criteria for discrimination does not imply the exclusion of discriminations based on ethnic origin. The word “race”, so far as human beings are concerned, has no objective scientific meaning, but it refers to visible general characteristics which are relative and partial by definition. The concept of nationality is not confined to citizenship or lack thereof, but it includes membership of a group determined by its cultural, ethnic, or linguistic identity, common geographical or political origins, or its relationship with the population of another State.

(Preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of Article 22a of Directive 89/552/EEC. Specifically, it has been asked to the Court whether the concept of incitement to hatred on grounds of race or nationality pursuant to Article 22a of the Directive must be interpreted as prohibiting broadcasts which, in attempting to justify the terroristic organization PKK (Workers’ Party of Kurdistan), may infringe the principles of understanding between different ethnic or cultural communities, such as the Kurdish and Turkish communities).