Brussels, 19/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has sent requests for information to 20 EU member states which have not yet notified measures to transpose new EU telecoms rules in full into national law. The deadline set by the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers for transposing the new rules was 25 May 2011.
So far, only seven member states (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Malta, the United Kingdom and Sweden) have indicated that they have fully transposed the rules. The other member states (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) have all begun the legislative process but have not informed the Commission regarding the subsequent stages for formal implementation of the European rules. Through the formal letter of notice, the Commission is asking them to send it information about the measures they intend to adopt in the next two months. If they fail to reply or if it is not satisfied with the answer, the Commission can send the member states concerned a formal request to implement the legislation (in the form of a reasoned opinion under the second stage of the EU infringement procedures), and ultimately refer them to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
One of the priorities for the Digital Agenda for Europe is the swift and coherent implementation of new regulation on telecommunications. This regulation gives businesses and consumers new rights, better online data protection and improved legal protection thanks to new European Commission monitoring powers and the regulatory powers for the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). (I.L.trans/fl)