Brussels, 16/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - If the question of neutrality and the opening up the internet is not creating any debate, the way in which this is achieved (in a multifaceted cyberspace environment, where the management of different information flows is difficult to control), is certainly a subject up for discussion. On 11 November, the Commission and the European Parliament organised a summit on “The Open Internet and Net Neutrality in Europe”. The commissioner responsible for the digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, underlined on this occasion that competition and vigilance on the behalf of the regulator were the best means of protecting net neutrality. The commissioner stated: “A healthy competitive environment allows tackling many potential problems at the roots, avoiding the emergence of monopolistic gatekeepers, which could create serious dangers for net neutrality”. However, in order to facilitate efficient competition, transparency is indispensable in order to enable consumers to make the right choices. This is the objective of the new measures included in the “Telecoms Package”, which is expected to be applied in May 2011. In an effort to underline the question of how traffic management is important, Kroes said that “consumers should not underestimate their own power in shaping this situation… I say to those people who are currently cut off from Skype: vote with your feet and leave your mobile provider”. The obligation of operators having to inform consumers about traffic management measures they use was one of the points discussed in the debate. This obligation results from the new legislative framework and the objective of helping consumers make the best choice in total transparency but makes no sense at all if there is no competition. Moreover, the lack of competition is definitely one of the problems in Europe. With regard to quality of services provided, the new framework intends to grant the national regulation authorities a minimum quality service but there are no definitive ideas on how this current issue should be tackled. It should be pointed out, that the question of internet neutrality and its opening up is directly linked to the digital strategy for Europe. Many objectives in this strategy depend upon the existence of a neutral and open internet. It particularly involves working out whether providers are authorised to adopt certain practices in internet traffic management, for example, by promoting a certain kind of traffic in preference to others. It also requires working out whether such practices create problems and are unfair to users, whether the level of competition between the different providers of internet services and the requirements regarding transparency in the new telecommunications regulatory framework will be enough to avoid potential problems, allowing consumers to decide whether the EU should continue to take action to guarantee the existence of a fair playing field on the internet market or whether it is up to the sector concerned to take the initiative. The Commission launched a public consultation into these questions, which closed on 30 September last. (I.L./transl.fl)