Europaabgeordnete lehnen gemeinsame EU-Telekommunikationsbehörde ab[en] 

The European Commission proposed a general review of the rules governing European electronic communications on 13 November 2007. 
The application of the proposals would increase the Commission's power over the sector, allowing Brussels to block decisions taken by national regulators (see our Links Dossier).

The proposals notably included the establishment of a new EU Telecoms Authority and the strengthening of the European Group of Regulators (ERG), which brings together national watchdogs. The new body would ultimately be controlled by the Commission and would also assume the tasks of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), the temporary EU agency dealing with the security of communication networks (EurActiv 06/03/08).

The plan would also allow national regulators to impose functional separation of network management from service activities on incumbent operators as a means of tackling low competition. This is currently only possible in a few EU countries.

MEPs in the Industry Committee (ITRE) rejected the proposal by an overwhelming majority (30 votes, two against and two abstentions) during a vote held late at night on Monday (7 July). 

The vote came as a confirmation of doubts expressed earlier by Spanish centre-right MEP Pilar del Castillo Vera, the Parliament's rapporteur on the dossier (EurActiv 25/04/08). It also echoes stances taken by EU telecoms ministers, who have already rejected the proposed measure (EurActiv 12/06/08).

The measures will however still need confirmation in a plenary vote to be held in Parliament in September (first reading).

Under the revised text, Brussels will not have full powers to block decisions by national regulators, which instead will have to be confirmed jointly by the 27 regulatory authorities meeting in a new group, the Body of European Regulators in Telecoms (BERT).

Viviane Reding, the EU telecoms commissioner who drafted the initial proposal, voiced her scepticism about the plan, saying the new European regulatory body will likely create "lengthy procedures".

"Questions remain especially as regards the financing of the new body as well as its capability to arrive swiftly and efficiently at common positions," Reding said. "Here, a lot of further work is indispensable."

Go-ahead for functional separation

MEPs however endorsed a related proposal that would require telecoms operators to create a separate unit to run their network businesses, a process known as "functional separation" which the Commission hopes will boost competition in national markets.

The move was welcomed by Reding, who said the committee's endorsement of functional separation was "good news as it will enable national regulators to address cases of persistent competition bottlenecks".

Functional separation will however only be decided as "an exceptional measure" after confirmation by both the European Commission and the European regulatory body, MEPs said.

Next generation networks

In another move, MEPs voted through measures aimed at encouraging investment in fast internet services using fibre networks. These include "investment sharing" among operators as well as a system of "risk-sharing" between firms making the investment and those wanting access to the new facilities.

More flexibility in allocating radio frequencies

In yet another aspect of Monday's vote, MEPs approved measures to optimise the use of radio frequencies in order to make room for new services such as mobile TV and broadband internet. 

The report on radio frequencies, drafted by French Socialist MEP Catherine Trautmann, says EU countries must co-operate with each other and the Commission in the strategic planning, co-ordination and harmonisation of radio spectrum use. 

To that end, MEPs called on the European Commission to draft a "radio spectrum action programme" also to allocate the frequencies now freed up by the switchover from analogue to digital TV.

Consumer rights and transparency

In a separate move, the Parliament's Internal Market Committee voted to enhance transparency on prices by providing information that the can be re-used by competitors for consumer information.

Operators will also now be forced to inform customers about the costs of terminating a contract before its normal termination date when it involves handing out free handsets.

EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding, responsbile for telecoms, voiced her disappointment with the committee's vote, saying the new European regulatory body will lack the powers necessary to arrive at quick decisions. "Businesses and consumers in Europe are interested in results, not in lengthy procedures," Reding said in a statement. 

"I have doubts whether BERT and the heavy Article 7 procedure now created will be able to deliver coherent regulatory responses to the regulatory obstacles still far too present in Europe's single telecoms market."

Reding also said she would have liked "more ambition" on radio frequency allocation, saying "a more efficient and consistent management of spectrum" would help achieve "a Europe with 'broadband for all'".

The committee vote sparked an angry reaction from ETNO, the European association representing incumbent telecom operators. "The inclusion of the functional separation remedy in the framework is a deterrent to investment and not the right approach for favouring infrastructure-based competition," ETNO said in a statement.

ETNO also expressed concerns about measures endorsed by MEPs which it claimed "would make extensive access obligations to fibre networks obligatory" and discourage investments. "Access to networks should be targeted at cases where infrastructure-based competition is not feasible" and should be decided by national regulators "on a case-by-case basis," it said.

The European Broadcasting Union, which represents national TV channels, expressed its satisfaction with the outcome of the vote regarding spectrum allocation, saying it "will help ensure the dynamic development of broadcasting". 

"Yesterday's decision confirms that European broadcasters are expected to deliver their services over all platforms, including digital terrestrial, which is key for free-to-air viewing," commented EBU Director General Jean Réveillon.