Brussels, 05/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - As part of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) on Monday 4 April, the European Commission and the US government adopted a series of principles for framing the trade in services in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT ). The two partners, backed by other countries, will seek to promote a code of conduct for the whole world, in an effort to promote the international development of networks and services based on ICT. This is aimed at allowing all service providers in this sector to participate in the tenders launched, under the same competition conditions as those enjoyed by local providers. Neelie Kroes, the Commissioner for the Digital agenda, asserted that, “These principles… will help to ensure that trade rules are used as an effective tool to open up ICT markets worldwide to the benefit of all businesses and consumers”. Karel De Gucht, Trade Commissioner, affirmed that “the principles agreed today are an excellent example to demonstrate the important role the TEC can play in bringing transatlantic convergence activities to a higher political level”.
Through this agreement, the EU and US will now promote ten common principles to support EU and US efforts to raise the profile of ICT services in bilateral agreements as well as in the WTO. Transparency of rules affecting trade in ICT and ICT services involve: open networks for consumers to access and distribute information, applications and services of their choice; cross-border flows of information; no requirement to use local infrastructure for ICT services; efficient and maximised use of radio spectrum; independence of regulatory authorities overseeing ICT services; and simple authorisation of competitive telecommunications services and international cooperation with a view to increasing the level of digital literacy in third countries.
Implementation of these principles by countries worldwide would not only allow European and US companies to benefit from much better commercial opportunities, but also allow the people living in these countries to benefit from lower and more competitive prices for ICT services. The promotion of common principles would allow foreign companies access to markets that have previously not been open to them and which have exclusively been used by local firms. The principles that the European Union and the US have promised to respect do not have any impact on the right of the different parties to continue applying their respective policies on intellectual property, respect for private life and cultural diversity, explains the Commission. These principles will be reviewed every two years. (I.L.trans/fl)