Strasbourg, 20/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - The three European Parliament rapporteurs on the telecoms package have called on telecommunications ministers to find a common position at the next Council on 27 November. In a letter to French Secretary of State for Industry and Consumption Luc Chatel on 13 November, Catherine Trautmann, Pilar del Catillo Vera and Malcolm Harbour said they hoped for a Council agreement so that a co-decision agreement could be reached before the end of this parliament. “We are certain that we, Council and Parliament, will reach a desirable and balanced agreement by May 2009,” the letter says, and it calls on the French Presidency to try to broker a political agreement at the Telecoms Council. Discussions will then continue with Parliament, which has to give its second reading opinion. Speaking to press in Strasbourg on Wednesday 19 November, Harbour said he was trying to be optimistic over the issue of these talks. He felt that the draft common position drawn up by the French Presidency ahead of the next ministerial meeting was “close enough to our position for there to be a sound base for discussions”. (A.B./transl.rt)