Brussels, 02/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - In response to numerous requests for information and clarification, the European Commission adopted a Communication on Monday in which it states that private individuals should be free to use satellite dishes without undue technical, administrative, urban planning or tax obstacles, this right flowing from the free movement of goods and services, which are both fundamental internal market freedoms.
Satellite dishes have become an increasingly powerful and popular tool for receiving a growing range of services carried by satellite (television and radio broadcasts, Internet, etc) and are the final link in an economic chain which supplies various satellite services. Obstacles to the use of satellite dishes therefore impact at several levels of the economy. Given the cross-border nature of the services, the Commission attaches considerable importance to this issue in terms of economic and cultural exchanges and the dissemination of new technologies in the context of the single market.
The Communication stresses that the following national restrictions are incompatible with the free movement of goods and services: technical barriers (regulations on the form of the dishes which can hinder the free circulation of the dishes and the services they supply); administrative obstacles (such as the installation of a dish being subject to prior approval); architectural and town-planning obstacles (the Commission feels that the often cited architectural and town-planning concerns can be met by solutions which make it possible to minimise the visual and aesthetic impact of dishes at reasonable cost and under reasonable conditions); tax obstacles: the Commission reiterates its opposition to taxes specifically targeted at satellite dishes; obstacles to users' freedom of choice: the Commission argues that the use of technology, like the choice of services, rests entirely with the user and it is therefore unacceptable to penalise or otherwise discourage the use of satellite dishes. The full Communication can be consulted at: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market.