The Parliament has backed the reforms at committee stage and
heard from MEPs who had investigated the proposals who said that
the measures would help to stimulate industry, innovation and
job-creation.
The Commission has proposed amending five existing EU Directives
and one Regulation in a sweeping package of telecoms reform that it
says would strengthen consumer rights, increase users' access to
new technologies and increase users' data security.
The European Parliament will vote on the proposal at the end of
September, but debated it this week. The Parliament had appointed
rapporteurs to produce reports on various aspects of the
changes.
The proposals include plans to harmonise the use of spectrum
across the EU as space is freed up by the switch from analogue to
digital television.
Italian rapporteur on that subject Patrizia Toia said that it
was essential to have an EU-wide policy on harmonisation to make
the best use of the resources that were becoming available. She
said that spectrum is a "public good" with "social value" that
could benefit all citizens. EU-wide co-ordination is essential to
get the full public benefit though, she said.
A British MEP reported to Parliament on users' rights and said
that "consumers are entitled to be informed about some of the
problems they might encounter, whether it is potential for
infringing copyright, whether it is potential for unauthorised use,
whether it is potential for example for buying things that could
damage their health like counterfeit medicines".
The Parliament's rapporteurs backed Commission plans to increase
the tranpsarency of billing for communications services and to
improve the speed at which consumers can change service provider
while retaining telephone numbers.
The Commission's proposal has been significantly modified by
Parliament's committees, acting on the rapporteurs' reports. The
Commission had proposed the creation of an EU-wide telecoms
regulator under its auspices, but the Parliament's industry
committee rejected that plan.
Instead it said it would agree only to a co-regulatory body that
would involve the Commission and the existing national telecoms
regulators.
EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said that the
alternative body would be too slow and cumbersome in reacting to
market developments.
Other aspects of the Commission's proposals include forcing
internet service providers to tell customers when they have lost
their data and improving the performance of the 112 EU-wide
emergency number.
The whole Parliament will vote on the measures in the next
Parliamentary session between 22nd and 25th September.
