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Image header Agence Europe
Europe Daily Bulletin No. 9081
Contents Publication in full By article 20 / 38
GENERAL NEWS / (eu) eu/telecommunications

Austria agrees to repeal contentious law

Brussels, 02/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - The conflict between the Commission and Lower Austria on the tax of 21 euros (per annum and per operator), which the regional government intended to bring in on 1 January 2006 for the use of transmission antennae for mobile telephony networks, has been resolved amicably. Viviane Reding and the Prime Minister of Lower Austria, Erwin Pröll, made the announcement on Friday. This will lead to the repealing of the controversial law ("Sendeanlagenabgabe-Gesetz" of 21 June 2005). In exchange, the Austrian authorities will obtain a promise on the part of the operators for a better sharing-out of the sites in order to limit the number of transmission antennae in the future. "The Commission had serious doubts about the justification for this tax, which would seriously have damaged competition on the mobile communications market", said Ms Reding, who had been getting ready to bring in the infringement proceedings.

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