Telecommunications Council agrees on authorizations and licences
The Council of Telecommunications Ministers of the European Union, meeting in Brussels on 27 September 1996, reached agreement on a common position on the proposed Directive on a common framework for general authorizations and individual licences in the field of telecommunications services. The proposed Directive is a major part of the regulatory framework necessary for the operation of the liberalized telecommunications market, due to be fully realized from the beginning of 1998. The Directive, which should be implemented in national law by the end of 1997, lays down rules for the granting of general authorizations to operate telecommunications services in Member States' territories, and for the granting of individual licences in specific cases. The proposed Directive would ensure openness and transparency in the procedures for granting authorizations and licences, and regulate the conditions which may be applied to such licences and authorizations. In addition, in order to facilitate the provision of services between Member States, the Commission will establish a "one-stop shop" procedure for authorizations and licences. The common position, agreed by qualified majority, will be formally adopted at a future Council meeting, when all the language versions of the text are finalized. Following that it will be transmitted to the European Parliament for its second reading.