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EU vows to get tough on ‘killer games’

By DPA

Luxembourg : European Union justice ministers Wednesday vowed to push for stricter rules on the sale of "killer games" to children but did not agree on common legislation.

"There is broad consensus that much more needs to be done" in fighting violent computer and video games across Europe, German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries told reporters after a meeting with her EU counterparts.

Zypries, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said that legal standards across the 27-member bloc were too different to agree joint rules on the sale of "killer games".

EU justice commissioner Franco Frattini said that it was up to each member state to adopt legislation on violent video games.

However, EU governments must develop common criteria for defining so-called "killer games", Frattini stressed.

He also called on EU countries to try and bring industry, producers and inventors of such games on board in the fight against violent video games.

The European Commission is planning to introduce a list of common sanctions against retailers selling violent video games to children while leaving it to member states to identify such products.

However, the EU executive has said it would not regulate what kind of video material should be banned for younger children.

The planned rules could include new age restrictions on violent games as well as stronger parental advisory warnings.

Germany has put the initiative high on its agenda after last November's incident in a North German town where an 18-year-old computer games addict wounded 11 students at his school before killing himself.

The industry currently operates a self-regulated ratings system for video and computer games.

However, retailers in most EU countries are not legally obliged to restrict the sale of adult-classified products.