European Union Telecoms Package
After a stall of the EU Telecoms Package before the summer, the reconciliation process has now been successful and a compromise has been reached on 5th November 2009 around the 'internet freedom provision' which the European Parliament had not agreed on back in May 2009.
The next steps are now:
- Vote of the new internet freedom provision agreed between Parliament and Council in a plenary session of the European Parliament and in the Council of Ministers around end November;
- Entry into force of the whole telecoms reform package with its publication in the EU's Official Journal (18 December 2009);
- Establishment of the European Body of Telecoms Regulators BEREC (spring 2010);
- Transposition of the telecoms reform package into national legislation in the 27 EU Member States (by May 2011).
ESOA's campaign managed to:
- Include reference to the international framework, so satellite operators can continue to take advantage of our status under ITU rules
- Include exemptions to technology neutrality to ensure adequate protection against interference in shared bands
- Secure a statement about the specific nature of the satellite industry.
The remaining challenge is now to make sure that member states adopt
an implementation in line with the objectives of the EU directives.
They have a large degree of leeway and may choose to go for a 'liberal
interpretation' of the directives.