Telecommunications Council of 13 June 1995
The Telecommunications Council, bringing together Ministers responsible for telecommunications from the 15 Member States, met in Brussels on 13 June 1995. Among the issues discussed were: - The Green Paper on the liberalization of the telecommunications infrastructure and cable television networks; - Negotiations on telecommunications within the World Trade Organization (WTO); - Advanced television and the use of norms for the transmission of television signals; - Application of Open Network Provision (ONP) principles to voice telephony; - Personal and mobile communications in the European Union; - The information society; - Use of cable television networks for the provision of telecommunications services. Following lengthy discussion on the second part of the Commission's Green Paper on the liberalization of infrastructures for telecommunications and cable television networks, the Council unanimously approved the text of a resolution on the setting-up of the future regulatory framework for telecommunications. This resolution should be formally adopted at the next Council meeting. The principal points of the regulatory framework set out by this resolution, combined with the timetable foreseen in the Council resolutions of 22 July 1993 and of 22 December 1994, will form the basis for negotiations on telecommunications within the WTO. Sir Leon Brittan, Vice-President of the Commission, reminded the Council that the Union's initial offer for negotiation should be presented by the end of July and that this resolution was a necessary condition for its finalization. With regard to the issue of advanced television services, the Council took note of the amendments introduced by the European Parliament to the Council's common position on the use of standards for the transmission of television signals and of the favourable position of Commissioner Bangemann to these amendments. The Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) was requested to prepare a decision on this issue as soon as possible in order to avoid a formal conciliation procedure which could delay the final adoption of the Directive by several months. The Council further registered its agreement on a common position on the proposed Directive on the application of ONP principles to voice telephony. The formal adoption of this common position will take place at a subsequent Council meeting. It also marked its accord on a resolution on personal and mobile communications to be adopted at a subsequent meeting. Commissioner Bangemann presented a Commission communication on guidelines for the development of information society applications as well as a draft proposal for a decision concerning trans-European telecommunications networks. This will be examined by COREPER with a view to rapid adoption. No further progress was made on the draft Commission Directive modifying Directive 90/388/EEC concerning the suppression of restrictions on the use of cable television networks for the provision of telecommunications services.