The European Parliament validated, with some self-satisfaction, the new electronic communications code and the enhanced powers of the Body of European Regulators on Electronic Communications (BEREC) at its session on 14 November (see EUROPE 12035).
However, in the debate preceding the vote, several MEPs regretted the lack of ambition of the BEREC text, while the Commission completely ignored the new developments on intra-EU international calls to which it initially opposed.
The new Electronic Communications Code, which will have to be replicated two years after its publication in the Official Journal, is designed to facilitate the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure. It sets the minimum duration of licences at 20 years (with some flexibility), lessens the rules for operators who engage in co-investment and improves the protection of end-users. At the request of the European Parliament, the text of more than 500 pages also caps the price of intra-EU international calls and introduces an alert system (via SMS or a specific application) in case of emergency.
The second text, 130 pages long, strengthens BEREC's powers without transforming it into an EU executive agency (as proposed by the Commission). A limited reform, therefore, which several MEPs - such as German MEP Julia Reda (Greens/EFA) - complained about during the debate before the vote.
The Commission has now undertaken to monitor the implementation of the texts: "Our work is not yet finished, it is only beginning. Our objective now will be to ensure that the code is implemented on time, correctly and efficiently," commented Vice President for the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip.
For the communications code, see page: https://bit.ly/2OJJKRd - The BEREC Regulation is on page: https://bit.ly/2Fm3Bqf. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)