In June of 2006 consumer agencies in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden charged that Apple was violating contract and copyright laws in those countries by not enabling customers to purchase, download, and play tracks from iTunes on their non-Apple portable players. A Norwegian official today revealed that French and German consumer groups have joined the Scandinavian countries in their efforts to pressure Apple. Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman Bjoern Erik Thon said French consumer lobby UFC-Que Choisir and its German counterpart, Verbraucher, joined the movement late last year, according to the Associated Press, and that other European countries are considering joining effort. “This is important because Germany and France are European giants,” said Thon. “Germany, in particular, is a big market for digital music.”

Germany’s consumer protection minister, Horst Seehofer, plans to publish a jointly authored Charter for Consumers of Digital Media in mid-February. The charter will call on online vendors such as iTunes to ensure that downloaded music can be played on all types of players, as well as demanding that they address data-protection and liability issues. In France, Que Choisir, the consumer association, advocates an even more radical approach to that of Norway, arguing that any use of digital rights management was against consumers’ interests. The French group is in the middle of a court case against Apple, after scoring a legal victory this month against Sony France, which operates a similar closed system tying music downloads to its own players.

An Apple spokesman addressed the announcement on Tuesday: “Apple is aware of the concerns we’ve heard from several agencies in Europe and we’re looking forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible.”