Brussels, 07/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission's sixth annual report on the liberalisation of telecommunications in Member States is overall positive. On the whole, Member States are opening up their market in correct manner; the economic effects are good both for companies (the rate of growth of the telecoms services market is some 9% a year) and users (the price of these services has fallen steeply), expansion of the Internet is continuing (even if Europe is far behind the United States).
There are still shortcomings, however, regarding both liberalisation (traditional operators continue to dominate the market) and regarding tariffs. The Commission proposes continuing to monitor the situation closely and intervene if necessary, and confirms its intention of altering the current regulatory framework, along the lines of the proposal already presented (currently being examined in Council and the European Parliament), i.e., to establish a lighter and more flexible regime. The goal is obviously to establish an efficient and competitive "information society" in Europe.