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Telecoms council reiterates commitment to ICT policy ahead of Spring Summit

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Published 09 March 2004 - Updated 15 June 2007
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EU telecoms ministers have confirmed their commitment to EU policies on ICT. Meanwhile, seven Member States face legal action for failing to transpose the regulatory framework.

  • e-Europe: Ministers endorsed the mid-term review of the e-Europe 2005 Action Plan as presented by the Commission in February (see
EurActiv, 24 February 2004). An adjusted plan will be presented by the Commission to the June European Council.
  • Broadband: Member States who have not yet prepared their national broadband strategies are invited to do so before the Commission publishes a Communication on the subject in May. National broadband strategies were to be handed to the Commission by end 2003 at the latest but many still appear to be missing. The Commission declined to give precise numbers. Meanwhile, new statistics on broadband penetration published on 9 March show an encouraging upward trends, climbing up to an average of 6 per cent throughout the EU.
  • 3G: Network deployment remains the top priority for this nascent industry. A Commission Communication is expected in July.
  • Spam: Action is to focus on enforcement of the 'opt-in' system for unsolicited commercial communications by Member States. A working party will seek common interpretation of the opt-in rules given that complying with the 'opt-in' system has sometimes proved problematic for businesses (see EurActiv's newly updated LinksDossier on
Privacy and data protection in the telecoms sector). National implementation policies are to be made available on the Commission's website in the future.
  • WSIS: the United Nation's
World Summit on Information Society(WSIS) concluded in December 2003 with the adoption of a fairly weak plan of action and declaration of principles in support of ambitious goals (see EurActiv, 15 December 2003). The Commission and the Member States are invited to prepare for the second round of the summit in November 2005, and in particular to take part in the UN's Task Force on Financing and Working Group on Internet Governance. The Commission is to report on the preparations for the second phase of the summit.

     

    Positions: 
    In a statement issued prior to the ministers' meeting, the European telecommunications network operators association ETNO insisted on open competition between different platforms (fixed and wireless networks, fibre optics, cable, satellite and ADSL) in order to continue broadband expansion. It supports public funding to help roll out broadband in underserved, remote European regions only when market forces have failed to do so. On the WSIS, ETNO expressed concerns that the proposals may fall short of their expected goal to connect half of the world to the Internet by 2015.

    Meeting with Commissioner Liikanen on 5 March, CEOs of five European telecoms companies presented their investment plans for the next three years. However, they warned that substantial investments by new entrants will only be possible if the regulatory framework is properly implemented by Member States who are accused of creating loopholes and uncertainty in the reg ulatory environment. They expect the Commission to take a tough stance on those countries which have not yet fully implemented the regulatory framework. The European Competitive Telecoms Association (ECTA) announced that it will publish a scorecard in April that will assess the relative regulatory effectiveness of ten Member States.

    The European interest group for mobile phones ( GSM association) welcomed last month's Commission communication on broadband and 3G. It insisted on public and private investment to stimulate growth and expects the Spring Summit to tackle the issue when it meets on 25 March.

     

    Next steps: 
    • March: Commission to publish guidelines on measures ('remedies') to be imposed on telecoms operators enjoying significant market power
    • 25-26 March: Spring European Summit
    • 21-23 April: Informal telecoms Council
    • May: Commission Communication on national broadband strategies
    • June: Commission to present an adjusted e-Europe action plan ahead of European Summit
    • 10-11 June: Telecoms Council
    • 17-18 June: European Summit
    • July: Commission Communication on 3G deployment

     

    Background: 
    Two weeks ahead of the Spring summit, EU telecoms ministers have on 8 March reiterated their commitment to the e-Europe 2005 Action Plan and highlighted the importance of the information and communications sector as a driving force for growth. Nonetheless, seven Member States now face the possibility of a legal action for failing to transpose the new regulatory framework on electronic communications (see EurActiv, 18 December 2003). Commission services told EurActiv it was evaluating the replies to its warning sent last December and could take action within a few weeks.

     

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