Brussels, 04/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - The new European Union regulatory framework for telecommunications and cyber-security are the two points on the Telecommunications Council agenda in Luxembourg on Friday 6 June. This meeting will be chaired by Greek Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Michalis Papadopoulos. This will not be a strategic session and ministers will only take note of the progress made in these two dossiers. Over a working lunch, ministers will tackle the question of internet governance. This is a particularly relevant question, given the US body ICANN recently promised to give a boost to shared global internet governance, which the European Commission had been calling for (see EUROPE 11040).
Cyber-security: The Council will take stock of the draft directive on cyber-security proposed by the Commission on 7 February 2013, which aims to ensure a high common level of communication network and information systems security in the EU. The text stipulates that all member states and stakeholders (key internet service facilitators and critical infrastructure operators) are obliged to guarantee a digital environment that provides benchmarks for trustworthiness throughout the EU. Real progress has been made on the proposal but discussions still need to be pursued, particularly on the question of cooperation. The progress report presented to the Council this Friday proposes guidelines and approaches for the forthcoming discussions under the Italian Presidency. It should be noted that the European Parliament has already adopted its position in a first reading on 13 March (see EUROPE 11039).
Single telecoms market: The Council will take note of the progress made on the new EU regulatory framework for telecommunications (“connected continent” package). The report drawn up by the Greek Presidency highlights the points that should be included in a more thorough examination, following the comments by member states in the report of December 2013. So far, member states have shown concern about the level of bureaucracy and the financial burden created by the proposal, as well as the lack of clarity regarding the relationship between the existing framework and the impact these measures could have on the powers of the national regulatory authorities. Many delegations consider that the new provisions on the radio spectrum are too prescriptive and go too far in the area of radio frequency harmonisation. With regard to the question of an open internet, more clarity is called for and opinions diverge on how to reach a balance between internet neutrality and reasonable internet traffic management. This question created quite a stir at the European Parliament during the adoption of its position at first reading on 3 April last (see EUROPE 11053). (IL)