Brussels, 25/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 25 June, the European Commission continued, opened or closed several infringement proceedings in the telecom sector. Three proceedings were closed with regard to Poland but a new dossier has since been opened against Warsaw. The Commission has also got its eye on Lithuania, pursuing proceedings and opening a new dossier on the country. Finally, three new infringement proceedings have been initiated, the first against Portugal, the second against Germany and the third against Latvia.
Poland. Necessary measures have been adopted by Poland to remedy problems regarding the independence of the Polish regulator, consumer contracts and the obligation for operators to negotiate interconnection. This is why it has been possible to close procedures opened in this respect. The Commission, on the other hand, has opened a new infringement proceeding (letter of formal notice, first stage in the procedure) for incorrect implementation of the rules on re-use of public sector information in Polish law.
Lithuania. Independence of the Lithuanian regulator is still not guaranteed despite a formal letter of notice dating back to September 2008. The Commission has therefore decided to pursue the procedure with a second warning (reasoned opinion). Furthermore, Lithuanian emergency services still do not have information allowing “112” emergency number callers to be pinpointed despite the Court of Justice's ruling last September, which made it an obligation for Lithuania to ensure this was possible. The Commission therefore sent a further letter of notice to this member state, which could receive a fine if the matter is taken before the Court yet again.
Portugal. Lisbon must speed up delivery of comprehensive telephone directory and directory enquiry services for consumers. In March 2009, the Court of Justice called Portugal to order - albeit unsuccessfully. The Commission therefore sent it a formal letter of notice, which could lead to the imposition of a fine.
Germany. The Bundesnetzagentur, the country's national regulator, did not consult the Commission or the regulators of the other countries before fixing new levels of mobile termination rates. The Commission therefore decided to send a formal letter of notice to Berlin, stressing that this was so far the most severe case of non-compliance in the telecom sector.
Latvia. This member state received a formal letter of notice concerning taxes perceived by the Latvian national regulatory authority, the Electronic Communications Office. The Commission is concerned about the fact that the administrative taxes perceived from businesses for control of using the radio-electric spectrum were not imposed in an objective, transparent and proportionate way. (I.L./transl.jl)