Luxembourg has rejected the licence application for a German-language channel by state-financed Russian TV broadcaster RT (formerly Russia Today).
As the reason for its decision, the Luxembourg Ministry of State said that it was not the relevant authority, responding to an enquiry by German news agency dpa.
Since the media service provider operated a registered office in the Federal Republic of Germany and a substantial part of the staff entrusted with the provision of the audiovisual media service is employed in Berlin, the proposed TV channel is subject to the jurisdiction of Germany, according to the Luxembourg Ministry of State.
RT is now exploring its options: “Our lawyers are in the process of examining the letter in order to decide on the further course of action,” the broadcaster said in a statement.