diff --git a/eventadmin/impl/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/eventadmin/impl/handler/EventHandlerProxy.java b/eventadmin/impl/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/eventadmin/impl/handler/EventHandlerProxy.java
index 7216f40..40a4a69 100644
--- a/eventadmin/impl/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/eventadmin/impl/handler/EventHandlerProxy.java
+++ b/eventadmin/impl/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/eventadmin/impl/handler/EventHandlerProxy.java
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@
         }
         // Second check filter (but only if topics is valid)
         Filter handlerFilter = null;
-        if ( this.topics != null )
+        if ( valid )
         {
             final Object filterObj = reference.getProperty(EventConstants.EVENT_FILTER);
             if (filterObj instanceof String)