BRUSSELS, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission made a proposal Wednesday to extend anti-dumping measures by one year against Chinese energy-saving light bulbs.

    The proposal was put forward in accordance with the overall interests of the European Union (EU), commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger told reporters at a daily news briefing.

    "There are grounds to leave the possibility of continuing these anti-dumping measures for another year, mainly to allow for a soft transition in a changing market reality" for the European industry, he said.

    The EU has imposed an anti-dumping tariff of up to 66 percent on energy-saving light bulbs from China since 2001, which was due to expire in July 2006.

    However, the EU later conducted an expiration review amid requests by industry to determine whether to prolong the tariffs for another five years.

    During the review period, which lasts 15 months after the expiration and is set to end this October, the anti-dumping measures remain in force.

    The proposal needs to be adopted by EU member states to become effective.

    The one-year extension is started once the final decision is made, probably within one month, said Stephen Adams, the press officer for EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.