Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-18-Speech-1-073"
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"en.20070618.14.1-073"2
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".
Mr President, I would like to begin by congratulating the honourable Member Gunnar Hökmark on a tremendous job and for rightly mentioning what this is all about. It is incredible; we cannot even begin to suggest how things might be 10 years from now. The European Parliament supports you, and your report contains very interesting points.
Another important aspect of this policy is radio spectrum. Wireless technologies are crucial for rural areas, but wireless technologies will become reality if – and only if – radio spectrum is available and accessible to market players ready to invest. We need a spectrum policy that is more flexible and, where appropriate, market driven. We need a more coordinated approach. This is the line the Commission will take in the forthcoming review of the telecom rules. That review will be fundamental to the further enhancement of competition.
To conclude, where market failure is clear, public authorities should step in and equip their territory with the appropriate broadband capabilities. In any case, we will continue working on the exchange of best practice and make sure that all regions are up to speed.
I would also like to thank the other committee members involved – Mr Harbour, Mrs Bourzai and Mr Sakalas – for contributing to this work. It is a united effort, so to speak. Last but not least, let me thank all those who took an active part in our ‘Bridging the Broadband Gap’ conference, held in Brussels in May: Mr Hökmark, Mrs Bourzai, Mr Harbour, Mr Goepel and Mr Chatzimarkakis.
The Commission’s vision is for it to be the norm for European citizens to be connected to broadband and to have a choice of services at their disposal. Competition is the main channel for delivering investment and innovation. However, there is a ‘but’: as we are aware, rural areas and disadvantaged regions are struggling. These are economic areas where ICT is not an option. Rural diversification and economic growth require the diffusion of innovative technologies and the adoption of an active ICT policy by regional authorities.
That is why the Commission has built this aspect into regional policy and into agriculture and rural development. We estimate that in the new programming period – 2007 to 2013 – about EUR 65 billion from the European Regional Development Fund will be devoted to rural areas. Furthermore, 4.4% of cohesion policy resources – EUR 14 billion – will be invested in priorities directly linked to the information society.
In Europe, we recognise both the primacy and the limits of the market in pushing broadband forward. Several public initiatives are being undertaken where the market does not work. It is a fact, however, that the gap between urban and rural areas is increasing rather than closing.
Let me give you some figures. Thirty percent of the rural population is excluded from broadband coverage, compared to an EU average of 10%. Only 10% of the rural population subscribes to it, compared to 17% of the EU population. The most common speed in rural areas is below 512 kilobytes per second, while the average in the EU is as much as one megabyte per second. Poor broadband access widens not only the digital divide, but also the economic and social divides.
Local and regional authorities have a key role to play in bridging that gap. Public policies, however, must respect state aid rules. Broadband markets are highly innovative and governments need to take care not to pre-empt them or to distort competition. But if a government believes that current services are inadequate, it can step in. Under state aid rules, the Commission has taken 26 decisions clarifying when public intervention is acceptable from the point of view of competition policy because it tackles real market failures.
Mr Hökmark’s report has highlighted the fact that broadband is increasingly a service of general economic interest. The Commission faces the question of whether broadband should be part of universal service obligations. To date, broadband is not included, as you are aware. We must think about what we mean when we call for broadband for all.
We may also need to look again at funding issues. We need proper consideration of this issue, which is why the Commission will publish a Green Paper early next year to launch a wide-ranging policy debate on the issue among all stakeholders."@en1
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