Meeting in the Committee of Permanent Representatives on Wednesday 20 November, the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU approved the third version of the conclusions of the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council on the European telecoms review (see EUROPE 13355/8) as well as those on the role of the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA).
This third and final version of the conclusions was approved by all delegations without amendment, according to several sources. In the document, which Agence Europe has been able to view, the proposals put forward by the Member States water down quite considerably the original ambitions set out by the Commission in its White Paper (see EUROPE 13388/5).
The EU27 call several times on the Commission to carry out a “more in-depth analysis” of the sector’s specific needs before considering the introduction of any new regulations, and to ensure that it always “reduces the administrative burden on businesses”.
While the ‘Draghi’ report advocated the creation of truly profitable pan-European operators in order to boost European competitiveness, the approved conclusions are somewhat cautious on this principle: the Member States are concerned about its “impact on competition for national markets and operators who are not in a position to act on a pan-European scale”.
The EU27 call on the Commission to “base any possible initiative on evidence” and consider that “further review is required as to whether and to what extent players in a converging ecosystem could be subject to the same rules”, before reviewing the conditions of competition within the sector.
Since the publication of the Commission’s White Paper, several countries and interest groups have expressed doubts about the need to overhaul the sector (see EUROPE 13412/14).
With regard to ENISA, the Member State representatives believe that the forthcoming evaluation of the Cybersecurity Act (CSA) (which came into force in 2019) should provide an opportunity to review the way in which the agency’s resources are managed.
In particular, they stress the need to set “concrete” strategic objectives for the agency, especially as it is overseeing the finalisation of the European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme (EUCS), which has been in a political and legislative limbo for several years (see EUROPE 13451/10).
The conclusions are due to be adopted by the EU27 ministers at the Telecommunications Council on 6 December. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)