Approval of telecoms reform package set to boost information society
The European Parliament voted on 12 December to adopt a compromise telecoms package which will modernise and simplify the current regulatory framework for electronic communications in Europe. The package is designed to encourage the transition to an information society by reducing the dominant market position of monopolies and opening the market up to competition, thereby reducing prices and increasing the use of new communication technologies in Europe. The compromise agreement gives the European Commission powers to oversee national regulatory regimes. If necessary, the Commission will have powers to overrule national regulatory authorities (NRAs) by requiring them to withdraw decisions in key areas linked to the functioning of the single market in order to ensure a level playing field for telecom operators and consumers. The new legislation also adapts existing rules to take account of the convergence between telecommunications, information technology and media. The agreement brings the principle of neutrality to the evolving market, where the same services can be delivered over a variety of platforms and received through a range of different terminals. 'This agreement is a major boost for Europe's future economic growth and employment,' said Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen. 'Less regulation, easier market entry and a level playing field across the EU are pre-requisites for the development of world-class communications and a powerful knowledge-based European economy.' The new legislation will: - Roll back legislation as competition becomes more effective on specific markets. Prospective regulation will in future be limited to dominant companies on a restricted number of specific markets. - Simplify market rules and stimulate competition. Individual licences will be replaced with general authorisations to provide services. - Strengthen the internal market through strong European-level coordination. Regulators will have to consult each other and the Commission on national decisions that could affect users or operators in other Member States. The Commission will be able to require a regulator to withdraw a decision if it creates a barrier to the single market. - Ensure that national regulatory systems allow for appeals on decision by the national regulatory authorities. National legal systems must allow for the facts or merits of the case to be considered. - Maintain universal service obligations to avoid exclusion from the information society and the creation of a 'digital divide.' - Establish a Community policy framework to coordinate policy approaches to radio spectrum and create a harmonised legal framework for radio spectrum availability and use. - Provide regulators with tools to cope with evolving future technology and market changes, within a defined framework of objectives and remedies. This will ensure that regulators can deal with a wide range of access and pricing issues, from international mobile roaming prices to network access. - Promote European standards for interactive digital television (DTV). Member States will encourage the use of European standards for the enhanced set top boxes or integrated digital TV receivers that consumers need to benefit from new interactive TV services. The adoption of the telecoms package by the end of 2001 was one of the goals set at the Lisbon European Council in March 2000 to provide a clearer legal framework for this crucial sector in order to pave the way to a digital, knowledge-based society. The move also maintains the momentum of reform set out by the eEurope action plan, agreed by heads of State and government in June 2000 to bring the benefits of the information society to all Europeans. The agreed deal includes four Directives (one Framework Directive and three specific Directives on authorisations, access and interconnection, universal service and users' rights) and a decision on Community radio spectrum policy. The fifth Directive in the package originally proposed by the Commission, a Directive on data protection, has incurred some procedural delay. However, it may still be possible to align the date of application for that directive with the rest of the package if the European Parliament and the Council reach an agreement on a common text within the next few months.