European telecoms commissioner Neelie Kroes has called upon the European Parliament to help establish a “radical” single market legislative package for the sector by Easter 2014.
In a speech to the parliament today, Kroes contended that there needs…
European telecoms commissioner Neelie Kroes has called upon the European Parliament to help establish a “radical” single market legislative package for the sector by Easter 2014.
In a speech to the parliament today, Kroes contended that there needs to be “a different and very political decision about delivering a single telecoms market”, a controversial issue in Europe for some time.
In her view, the package should put an end to mobile roaming fees and guarantee net neutrality, thereby protecting the “right to access the open internet”.
The legislative package, which could be delivered ahead of the European elections in May 2014, will have major economic and social benefits, she said, by breaking down “artificial barriers” currently impeding growth.
Acknowledging that compromises will need to be made, she said the package “will need to strike a sensitive balance if we are to agree it quickly”.
According to Kroes, the necessary political building blocks for such a package are already in place, with national governments standing in favour.
In January, the commissioner said the EC was planning to introduce comprehensive reforms this year to create a more unified, competitive and profitable telecoms sector. She stressed that the commission was working on a range of measures to create common, stable conditions across the EU, adding that new policies should boost competition, investment and growth and provide more opportunities for cross-border consolidation.
ETNO wants revision of regulatory framework
Meanwhile, the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) advocates that the push toward a single European digital market must be accompanied by a “bold revision” of the regulatory framework.
Following a meeting in Milan yesterday (29 May), the lobby group issued a statement calling for a revision of the current “unpredictable and un-harmonised” regulatory framework.
The existing framework is a key reason investment in Europe is lagging behind other developed economies as it “favours access seekers over investors, focuses mainly on the number of players in the market as an indicator for competition and [pays] too little attention to a sustainable market structure”, the Brussels-based group claimed. This consequently discourages much-needed investments in networks, it said.
“As most markets have an abundance of network and service providers, the regulatory revision will, in the opinion of ETNO, show that these markets require a much less intrusive and a simplified regulatory framework which will facilitate new investments and pave the way towards a digital single market.”
Kroes has previously ruled out developing a single regulator for all 27 EU countries.
