The ban has been in force for 70 years, but hit the headlines again last year when Apple launched its iPhone here, available only through mobile phone operator Mobistar. In other countries, sale of the iPhone goes hand-in-hand with the sale of a subscription plan, which usually results in the iPhone costing much less than the €500 officially charged.
The case was originally brought to Luxembourg by the motoring organisation VAB, which complained about an offer at Total gas stations of three weeks free breakdown assistance for every 25 litres of petrol bought. The VAB claimed the offer broke the law; the court ruled that the law is itself unlawful.
Enterprise minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, a strong supporter of scrapping the ban, immediately said he would see that the law is brought into line with European rules. Van Quickenborne was last year famously photographed in parliament using an iPhone before they were officially on sale here.
Not everyone is in favour of abolishing the ban, however. Ivo Mechels of the consumer organisation Test-Aankoop pointed to disadvantages in the system where bundling is allowed. “In the Netherlands an iPhone cost only €80, easily six times cheaper than in Belgium. But whoever bought one was obliged to take out a subscription for €45 a month for at least two years,” he said.
Examples of product bundling:
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