Brussels, 15/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 14 October, the European Commission asked the Estonian telecoms regulator (ECA) to withdraw its proposal for calculating regulated fees which the dominant operator, Elion Ettevoted AS, can charge other operators to use its broadband infrastructure. According to the Commission, the project has not demonstrated its ability to achieve price stability in the Estonian markets or sustain the objectives of the digital agenda. “Price stability within each member state and price consistency across the EU are key to set the right conditions for competition, innovation and investment in the telecoms sector. There is flexibility about national circumstances built into the system, but we must also ensure further regulatory coherence to promote a single market for telecommunications”, said Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes.
The Commission's request follows a three-month investigation, which began in July. During the investigation, ECA failed to provide evidence with the level of detail required as to why its proposal would comply with EU law, including its principles and policy objectives, such as to promote competition and efficient investments in new generation networks in Estonia. More particularly, ECA failed to demonstrate that valuing the assets at their initial historical cost rather than their current cost can achieve price stability in the Estonian markets, or whether ECA's proposed measure will help Estonia sustain the objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe in terms of speed, coverage and penetration. Any measure proposed by member states should also take account of the recently approved Commission's recommendation on non-discrimination and coherent costing methodologies. (IL/transl.fl)