Brussels, 14/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - In its first report on the application of the 1998 directive stipulating prior notification of national rules on online services, the European Commission explains that 70 notifications were received in the first 30 months, falling into five broad categories: electronic signatures, e-commerce, data protection, digital television and domain names.
In 50% of cases the Commission issued detailed opinions and/or observations, a very high response rate. In 95% of cases the Member States amended or withdrew their initiatives on the basis of the Commission's detailed opinions. The Commission explains in a press release that instances in which the Member States made substantial amendments, and in which the dialogue is in some cases still under way, include: domain names (Belgium), the electronic signature (Italy), computer crime and information and security services (the Netherlands) and e-commerce (Luxembourg, Austria, Germany and France). It explains that the directive aims to avoid extra-territorial legal arrangements and unnecessary administrative charges for operators and users. In its report, the Commission notes that implementing the notification system has created dialogue between Member States and the Commission and helped national bodies to develop a "Community reflex". Building on this success, the Commission is studying the possibility of extending the Notifications Directive to services other than online activities. The Council of Europe has adopted an international convention incorporating the substance of the notification procedure for Information Society services and the Commission is currently drafting a proposal for a Council decision signing this convention on behalf of the EU.