Brussels, 08/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is planning to open infringement proceedings against France if the Senate persists in adopting an amendment, on 10 February, to European legislation to make it possible to second a government official to Arcep, the French telecommunications regulatory authority. On 24 January, Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes wrote to French Industry Minister Eric Besson outlining her concerns about plans which go against European rules on the liberalisation of the telecoms sector, as they call for the stricter independence of the national regulatory authorities from the government and industry. “We are a bit disappointed as we have not received any reply (…). It is almost as if the French authorities are turning a deaf ear. It is a worry”, said Kroes' spokesperson, Jonathan Todd, on Monday. He went on to recall that all member states, including France, which is a founding state of the European Union, are obliged to respect all aspects of European law. “If there is an incompatibility, there are infringement proceedings, but it would be far better to avoid the proceedings by not adopting this amendment”, the spokesperson added. As well as allowing a representative of the French government within Arcep, which raises problems for the independence of the authority, the European Commission is concerned at possible distortions of competition which could be caused by an appointment in this kind. France is a major shareholder in the former historic operator France Telecom; Arcep holds confidential and sensitive information on France Telecom's competitors. The Commission is therefore concerned for the confidentiality of commercial information which may be passed on through Arcep. In her letter, Kroes proposes that France separates the vote on the amendment regarding the government representative from the rest of the legislation in order to isolate the problem, but France has not reacted to her proposal and could therefore face infringement proceedings if it persists in its plans. (I.L./transl.fl)