Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-06-13-Speech-2-146"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20000613.13.2-146"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, it is an absolute thrill for me to be able to start this debate in the absence of the rapporteur. You will have seen my look of desperation as I was scanning the room for Mrs Thors, but I am nonetheless pleased to do the honours. I wanted to begin by extending warm thanks to her for the excellent cooperation and the sterling work she has done. This is still the case, of course. But I am still sorry that she is unable to attend.
Convergence plays a huge role across the globe and naturally relates to both the Internet and the mobile sector, which will soon be closely interwoven. This is one of Europe’s great opportunities, but digital television also plays an important role. There is enormous potential there too, provided we meet three pre-conditions which I will briefly outline for you.
My first pre-condition is that we need to do more in the field of standardisation and interoperability. What do I mean by that? Interoperability of the set-top boxes is intended to avoid a situation where before long, users are having to place a whole assortment of boxes on top of their digital TVs in order to continue to watch the various programmes. We need to avoid this at all costs. I therefore welcome with open arms the DVB group’s recommendation of the Multimedia Home Platform as a possible standard. This is a step in the right direction. It has to come from the industry. I think that we can guide this process along to some extent, but the initiative has to come from the industry. Given the developments in the DVB group, it looks as if the industry has made good progress. I therefore hope that the industry will continue to seek open standards, because there are all kinds of exciting developments underway which we do not want to sabotage. But if the industry cannot achieve an open standard or interoperability, the politicians can and must speak out. A solution must then be found on a political plane as a last resort.
My second remark concerns open access. It is of utmost importance that open access be established and that the current must carry rules remain in place, because Europe is more than just a digital economy. It is also a cultural Europe. This is why I think that the amendment tabled by Mrs Thors with regard to her own report is sound. The must carry rules must continue to exist as long as they are proportionate and restricted to those stations which are intended to fall within the scope of Protocol 32 annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam.
Finally, it is absolutely vital that the directive on television without frontiers be reviewed. I hope that our Commissioner will be able to include this when he presents the new telecom legislation relatively soon, because a total package is desperately needed in order to eventually move convergence along much further in Europe, both in terms of telecomms and digital TV, and I hope that this package will enable Europe to take a leading role, which is what we called for in Lisbon."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples