Brussels, 02/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday at first reading, the European Parliament adopted three directives that are part of the Commission's package of proposals of 12 July last on reform of the current regulatory framework for electronic communications, in order to adapt it to the needs of the information society and the digital revolution (see EUROPE of 12 July). The directives cover the common regulatory framework (Paasilina Report), access to electronic communications networks (Brunetta Report) and authorised access to networks (Niebler Report). Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, responsible for the information society, mainly said he was pleased with the Parliament's support of the provisions that assure transparency and the coordination of decisions taken by the national regulatory authorities (Art. 6 of the framework directive). Referring to the terms of UMTS licenses imposed by the Member States, he declared: "We need to foster a European regulatory culture to help to even out wide differences in national decisions that can threaten the Single Market --and hamper the development of the whole sector". According to sources close to the Commission, Mr Liikanen expressed concern about the amendments made to the definition of "significant market power" and price regulation of mobile call termination charges and roaming charges, considering that they could bring about excessive regulation. Furthermore, he urged Parliament to give its position as soon as possible on the Commission's proposal on radio spectrum policy.
The report by Reino Paasilina (Social Democrat, Finland) introduced reinforcement of the consultation and transparency mechanism of national regulatory authorities (NRAs) provided for in Article 6 (amendment 33), guaranteeing that the Commission has the last word, in the name of harmonised implementation of the regulatory framework. Along the same lines, he added the obligation for a NRA to consult the regulatory authorities of the other Member States on the measures planned. The second key element of the report is the notion of market power. After intense discussion (see EUROPE of 6 February), the MEPs opted for a broader definition of the concept. The European Commission expressed concern about the risk that this might result in excessive regulation that would discourage operators and be detrimental to investment. Furthermore, the Parliament sought to increase its influence within the inter-institutional process (amendments 72 and 74), its role as set out in the initial proposal being considered as "marginal". Finally, the EP called for a European normalisation body to intervene in the recognition of digital television systems, which could become an alternative platform for Internet provision (amendment 63). The European Commission, however, hoped that, initially, the industry would be allowed to direct normalisation in this sector.
The second proposal of directive on access to networks and their interconnection provides for intervention by regulators should the operators not manage to negotiate access and interconnection. Giving its views on the report by Renato Brunetta (Forza Italia), that it amended, the EP hoped to be able to counterbalance the power of assessment of the NRAs regarding "market power" with a decision from the Commission on the authorised reference markets. It also called on the Commission and the NRAs to make it an obligation for operators to assure retail price transparency for international roaming services and to fix these prices in relation to costs. With an amendment, the plenary felt that the NRAs may choose not to impose the principle of non-discrimination on operators, while the report considers that this principle goes without saying. Furthermore, according to the plenary, all service providers in the field of digital television will remain subject to the conditional access system, while the report only imposed it on powerful market operators. The European Commission considers, for its part, that the notifications of its proposal require broad consultation and a more indepth analysis.
Finally, the report by Angelika Niebler (CSU) largely supports the European Commission's proposal to simplify the authorisation of networks going from the system of individual licenses to that of general authorisations, in order to improve market access. It also seeks to strengthen coordination on radio spectrum user charges and eliminate the possibility of fixing licensing conditions considered inappropriate. The European Commission's proposal to share out administrative charges between the companies in relation to their turnover was maintained, despite the opinion of Ms Niebler who was opposed to this. She recommended fixing charges in relations to costs really borne by the administration. In the same way, the MEP expressed concern about the possibility provided by Member States to modify the terms, procedures, charges and taxes applying to the general authorisations (her proposal to restrict this right was not taken on board).