Brussels, 05/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - Sources close to the Belgian Presidency didn't mince their words in their comments on the Council of Telecommunications Ministers (due to start on Thursday morning) which they said would not come to much ("pour pas grand-chose"). We understand that the vote by the European Parliament (EP) in second reading on the telecoms package (scheduled for 12 December) will echo the vote of the EP's Legal and Industry Committees on 27 November (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.16) and that the launch of a conciliation procedure therefore appears inevitable. A spokesperson for the Commission, however, seemed more optimistic. Moreover, it is not ruled out that the EU could reach political agreement on the proposal concerning personal data and protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector.
In terms of the telecoms package, the Belgian Presidency will inform ministers of progress in the informal dialogue with the EP with a view to avoiding conciliation. The main elements in the package are: 1) a proposal aiming to set rules for the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and lay down their duties with regard to sharing out and allocating radio bands and numbers and granting rights of way. The Council wants the NRAs to have supreme power, while the EP wants the European Commission to have the right to decide whether a NRA should amend or withdraw a measure which might infringe Community law. 2) a proposal concerning access and interconnection aiming to prioritise commercial negotiations between parties in terms of agreements on access and interconnection, outlining a detailed framework for when the NRAs can intervene when they feel it is necessary (to correct market malfunctions, for example). The EP feels that it is necessary to clearly explain what NRAs can demand of operators holding a significant market share to ensure they respond in a reasonable manner to access requests. 3) A proposal concerning authorisations which stipulates that general authorisations must be used except for granting radiofrequencies and numbers, and introduces new limits on the criteria that can be imposed on service suppliers. The EP is insisting that charges for the right to use radiofrequencies should not form an obstacle to accessing the market. 4) A proposal concerning universal service, regrouping the current measures and introducing a procedure for reassessing the scope of universal service. The EP is stressing access for the disabled.
The Belgian Presidency believes that the ministers could try to reach political agreement on the proposal on personal data and protecting privacy for electronic communications (for which Parliament published its opinion on 13 November, see EUROPE of 16 November, p.12) as long as it can agree on the remaining bones of contention, namely unsolicited e-mails, deleting traffic data and controlling "cookies" and spy software.
Following the 11 September attacks, the Council is expected to adopt a resolution on the security of information networks, calling on the Commission and Member States to taken measures on the exchange of information, promoting technical standards and co-operation between Member States. It will also call on the Commission not present proposals to set up a cyber-security task force.
The Commission will outline its e-EUROPE 2002 Communication to the ministers which gives information about the challenge of settling up a Community framework for the use of information from the public sector.