On Friday 2 December, the Council of the EU adopted a partial general approach on the Wifi4EU programme. The European Commission and the Slovak Presidency both welcomed the fact that this support had been found very swiftly.
The draft regulation was presented in the middle of last September as part of the “Telecommunications Package” to help the local authorities in Europe set up free Wi-Fi access points that were accessible to all by way of a financial package worth €120 million (EUROPE 11624).
It is a partial general approach due to its link to the on-going negotiations on the midterm review for the Multiannual Financial Framework supporting the main objectives of the European Commission. Nevertheless, it does introduce some changes regarding minimum speeds: although the Commission is proposing that funding is earmarked for high-speed services (in excess of 100 Mbps), the Presidency is suggesting the scope is extended to services providing speeds that are above 30 Mbps. It also improves the clarity and legal security of the proposal.
The Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, Günther Oettinger, explained that, “We are happy that the member states have given their support to WiFi4EU swiftly, which also demonstrates the importance of the real value of the initiative”.
The European Parliament’s work, however, is not expected to start until next year: the rapporteur, Carlos Zorrinho (S&D, Portugal), intends to organise an initial exchange of views on 26 January and present his report on 30 January. The vote in Parliament's Industry Committee is planned for 25 April 2017. The text of the general approach can be consulted at: http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-14442-2016-REV-1/fr/pdf. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)