In his letter, the Head of Unit responsible for the enforcement of Community provisions, Richard Van Raan, said that the examination of the relevant legislation is currently underway. Van Raan said that the Commission will be informing Muscat about its position once this examination process is concluded.

The Head of Unit also said that it is in licence payers’ interest to make use of means of redress available at national level, which as a rule enable one to assert one’s rights more directly and more personally. The European Commission reacted after Joseph Muscat sent a letter on the subject to Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein.

In his letter, Muscat referred to a Commission Communication dated 2 July 2001 which stated that private individuals should be free to use satellite dishes without undue technical, administrative, urban planning or tax obstacles. In the Communication, the Commission reiterated its opposition to taxes which are specifically targeted at

satellite dishes.