Home > 1.3.1.1.2 Accessibility to the media by participants in the election > Report on Electoral Law and Electoral Administration in Europe
 
 
 
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Paragraph 169
 

The Venice Commission is aware that there is no European consensus on how to regulate paid political advertising in broadcasting. Limits, thus, have to be seen against the legal and political background of each particular state. Considering the situation in Hungary, however, the Venice Commission suggested amending legislation in order to provide not only for free but also for paid political advertising in private broadcast media (CDL-AD(2015)015, para 97-103). However, if, in the opinion of judicial authorities, there is a body of evidence that national, regional, or local conditions make if financial spending limits difficult to enforce in practice, like in Ukraine, consideration might be given to prohibiting paid political advertising in broadcast media, while ensuring that free airtime for all electoral contestants is allocated effectively (CDL-AD(2015)025).