Brussels, 27/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - Ministers with responsibility for telecommunications meeting for a work session in Brussels on 27 November remain divided over whether there is any need rapidly to open talks with the European Parliament on the regulatory framework for telecommunications (connected continent).
In light of the reticence displayed by several member states which would like deeper technical assessment of the package's two most divisive provisions - roaming and internet neutrality - the Italian Presidency restricted itself to updating national positions despite Germany's clear desire for quick progress. It thus leaves it for the Latvian Presidency to reach a common position within the Council that is required before opening trialogue discussions with the Parliament.
“We have done all in our power to find a compromise but have to concede that no proposal won sufficient support”, regretted Italian Secretary of State for Telecommunications Antonello Giacomelli, underlining that, the next day, technical work would resume to take forward the matter until the end of the Italian Presidency. “Several colleagues have stressed that it is better to make good, rather than rapid, progress. … We have to do both, that's why the work is complicated”, Giacomelli added, stating that additional technical meetings would not be enough without real political will. “Agreement with the Council is still needed before providing a mandate to begin the trialogue. … The goodwill of those involved will allow a compromise to be found and tangible results in the coming months”, added Digital Single Market Commissioner Günther Oettinger.
While the initial proposal from the European Commission covered a broad swathe of issues, the Italian Presidency selected the two most contentious points for Council agreement.
Roaming: pending issues relate to a provision that would charge the same prices for international roaming as for domestic communications (“roam like home”). The delegations may broadly agree on the principle, but many fear that operators will increase domestic charges to compensate for possible roaming losses. BEREC, the European regulators' organisation, is currently examining the matter and will deliver an impact analysis before the end of the year. Before deciding on a timetable for putting “roam like home” in place, most member states want to wait for the BEREC analysis - a wish clearly expressed by Finland, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovenia, Greece, Croatia and Spain. Careful assessment of the wholesale market is needed so that there are no negative effects felt on retail markets, said the majority of member states.
Internet neutrality: net neutrality must be clearly stated in the text, all agree. But Italy's proposals are felt to be too vague in the definition of the principle of net neutrality. The European Commission, in its proposal, indicates that it wants to guarantee free and open internet access, without putting the brake on innovative services. Thanks to derogations, operators could, then, offer additional services, for an additional charge, so long as these services do not affect internet access for basic users. A large number of delegations were of the view that an EU approach based on principles in relation to an open internet and network neutrality would be useful in limiting differences in regulations among the member states. The Netherlands, backed by Slovenia, Greece, Slovakia, Luxembourg and Hungary, however, expressed the view that the Italian Presidency's definition proposals were not sufficiently precise. “They lay themselves open to discrimination. The derogations cast the net too widely and operators will be able to get round the neutrality rules. We also need principles to avoid any discrimination on price-setting”, said the Dutch minister (our translation throughout). (IL)