Brussels, 01/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - On 28 March, in Brussels, the European Regulators' Group (ERG), composed of National Regulatory Authorities (NRA) in the field of telecommunications, agreed on a common interpretation of the notion of a company with "significant market power". This is one of the key notions of the framework directive for electronic communications services and networks for which provisions will be in application from 25 July. Based on the Commission's guidelines concerning market analysis and definition as well as the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, this interpretation "provides for further guidance on the assessment of significant market power under the new Framework", states a European Commission press release. The text of the interpretation will be made public once it is finalised, in coming days. During the meeting last Friday, the third of its kind, it was also agreed that the Commission and the NRAs should cooperate on measures to be applied to the powerful market bodies.
The group also adopted other measures linked to the implementation of the new regulatory framework for electronic communications. It mainly gave its support to a draft proposal of recommendation from the Commission concerning notification, deadlines and consultation in accordance with Article 7 of the Framework Directive. The article concerns consultation between NRAs and the Commission concerning draft measures that the NRAs hope to take at national level. The draft proposed recommendation will be tabled for the April meeting of the Communications Committee, where the EU Member States are represented. The Commission intends to adopt the Recommendation in June.
It was also agreed to develop an ERG position on bitstream access, given its importance in the rollout of broadband services and applications. ERG agreed to examine whether a harmonised approach is needed and possible. This will be added to the ERG Work Programme 2003. Finally, the ERG Chair was unanimously conferred upon Ms Hagman, who heads the Finnish regulatory authority (FICORA) until 30 June 2003. From 1 July 2003, her opposite number from the Belgian regulatory authority BIPT, Mr Van Heesvelde, will take over.