Est. 3min 25-04-2008 (updated: 28-05-2012 ) electric_cable_sxc_marcio.jpg Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The European Parliament is determined to see the reform of EU telecoms rules concluded before its term comes to an end in the second half of 2009, despite the new proposals put forward and clear disagreements with the Commission on the set-up of a new European authority and radio spectrum reform. Presenting the draft reports amending the legislative proposals put forward by the Commission, MEPs asked for a quick agreement among the EU institutions on the overall reform. They also said more attention must be paid to the deployment of Next Generation Networks and the geographical segmentation of markets. Indeed, the risk remains that the legislative process may go beyond the end of the current Parliament term due to the varying positions emerging from Commission, Parliament and Council. A question of authority: EECMA vs. BERT As earlier announced on various occasions (EURACTIV 31/01/08), the Parliament remains opposed to the establishment of the new telecoms authority proposed by the Commission (EECMA – European Electronic Communication Market Authority). As an alternative, in her draft report, Spanish MEP Pilar del Castillo Vera (EPP), Parliament’s rapporteur on the subject, suggested strengthening the existing European Regulators Group (ERG) and transforming it into a Body of European Regulators in Telecoms (BERT). Funding for the new body would come mainly from the member states via national authorities. ENISA, the EU agency currently in charge of network security, would remain in place. Decision-making procedure The Parliament also expressed opposition to the increased power that the telecoms review would give to the Commission. A proposal to allow Brussels to block remedies decided by national regulators if they contradict European principles has been watered down by MEPs. In their point of view, such blocking decisions should be taken jointly by the Commission and BERT. Functional separation The Commission’s proposal on functional separation seemed to generally attract Parliament’s agreement. National regulators should have the option of imposing this remedy but it “has to be explained and justified,” said French MEP Catherine Trautmann (PES), in charge of the Parliament report on the regulatory framework. Radio spectrum Trautmann confirmed her opposition to the primarily market-driven approach adopted by the Commission. “Market mechanisms, whilst constituting effective tools to derive optimal economic value, are not alone able to serve the general interest and provide public goods indispensable for achieving an information society for all,” she concluded in her draft report. Next Generation Networks (NGN) The Parliament considered the deployment of fibre networks to be one of the two most important issues in the telecoms sector, together with spectrum reform. It considers the NGN to be much more important than the Commission’s proposals appeared to do. The draft report suggests deploying parallel networks as the most preferable solution. If this is not possible, “an open network approach favouring shared investments and, if necessary, mandating non-discriminatory access would be needed,” concludes the report. Geographical segmentation The Parliament also proposed introducing new remedies for national regulators aimed at allowing them to split national telecoms markets into different regional markets when appropriate, as already done in Britain by Ofcom last February. In its review of the sector, the Commission welcomed the Ofcom move, even though it did not propose geographical segmentation (see EURACTIV 15/02/08). Read more with Euractiv Teachers told to protect children from online risks Leading internet and telecoms firms have teamed up with the European Commission in the fight against cyber-bullying by launching a new website showing teachers how to spot inappropriate use of the Internet and mobile phones by children. Positions"Today telecoms make up a large part of EU growth, with 250 million Europeans connected to the Internet. However access is still not optimal everywhere," said MEP Catherine Trautmann (PES, FR), in charge of the Parliament report on the regulatory framework. For this reason "we absolutely want the telecoms package to be decided before the end of the term". MEP Pilar del Castillo Vera (EPP, ES), Parliament rapporteur on the new Telecoms Authority, clearly rejected the Commission's plan: "The new body would have three fundamental problems. It would end up creating a very large bureaucracy; it would pose a threat to the principle of subsidiarity; it would send a contradictory signal against the general desire to move from ex-ante regulation to a fully competitive market." Martin Selmayr, spokesperson for Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding, diplomatically replied: "The intended upgrade of the ERG to a more efficient, more independent and more transparent Community body (whatever its name) is a very welcome positive development, even though further work will be required to ensure that the legal framework and the financing of the new body will be fully compatible with European Community law." He also added: "We regret the lack of ambition as regards the reform of spectrum management. In this respect, we hope that the months to come will further clarify the need to give Europe's wireless industry better access to radio spectrum for new services and to ensure that all EU citizens are covered by broadband." The incumbent operators' reaction was represented by European Telecoms Network Operators' Association (ETNO) Director Michael Bartholomew: "By placing the next generation networks and the risky investment they entail at the top of the review agenda, Trautmann's report represents a significant shift from the initial Commission proposals, even if more could still be done to encourage NGN investment," he said, also welcoming Parliament's proposals on geographical segmentation. On the other hand, "ETNO remains convinced that functional separation is not appropriate for today's market and could act as a deterrent to investment," added Bartholomew. Ilsa Godlovitch, the European Competitive Telecoms Association's (ECTA) director of regulatory affairs, commented on behalf of the alternative telecoms operators: "An important principle put forward by Catherine Trautmann is that operators should share infrastructure to justify the expense of rolling out fibre access lines. We are encouraged by these signals. However, we are concerned about some contradictory aspects of the proposal, which suggest that duplicating lines rather than sharing them should be the preferred approach. We find the idea that customers would want to pay more for to have multiple telephone lines from different providers going into their house unrealistic and unlikely to gain the backing of financiers," she said. The proposal on geographical segmentation was considered by Godlovitch to be a measure "likely to increase red tape and raise prices, in particular for rural customers". "The UK was the first in Europe to try this approach, but the decision to segment broadband markets will not be fully in force until 2009 so it is too early to see what effect it will have. We do know that New Zealand tried it in the past, but has since moved towards a more unified national approach," she commented. BackgroundThe 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. The proposals included the establishment of a new EU Telecoms Authority meant to take over and strengthen most of the tasks of the European Group of Regulators (ERG), which brings together national watchdogs. The new body would be ultimately controlled by the Commission and would also assume the tasks of ENISA, the temporary EU agency dealing with the security of communication networks (see 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. As for the radio spectrum, the reallocation of frequencies freed up by the switch from analogue to digital foreseen across the EU by 2012 should first take a market-based approach into consideration, according to the Commission's position (see our Links Dossier). Timeline 6 May: Debate on draft reports on telecoms review in Parliament's Industy, Research and Energy (ITRE) committee. 3 June: Presentation of amendments to reports. 26 June: ITRE vote on reports. 7-11 July: First-reading vote in the European Parliament. Further ReadingEuropean Union European Parliament:Audio of the press conference presenting EP draft reports on the Telecoms package(23 April 2008) European Commission:Proposal amending the Directive on common framework(13 November 2007) European Parliament:Draft reports amending Commission's proposal(23 April 2008) European Commission:Proposal to establish a new EU Telecoms Authority(13 November 2007) European parliament:Draft report amending Commission's proposal on the nex Authority(17 April 2008) European Commission:Proposal on radio spectrum allocations after digital dividend(13 November 2007) EU:Directive on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications(7 march 2002) [FR] [FR] [DE] EU:Decision establishing the European Regulators Group (ERG)(29 July 2002) [FR] [FR] [DE] EU:Decision on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum(7 March 2002) [FR] [FR] [DE]
