Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-05-05-Speech-2-048"
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"−
Madam President, thank you to all those who have made it possible for this very important package to see the light of day. I am thinking, of course, of the rapporteurs and their colleagues, but I am thinking also of the Czech Presidency, and I would like to say here, officially, that the ambassador, Mrs Reinišová, has been fantastic in the way she has cooperated with Parliament and the Commission to make this project possible.
Furthermore, I would like to say something about freedom on the Internet, because many Members have spoken about it. The compromise reached is a victory for the freedom of citizens and of Internet users.
Firstly, this compromise very clearly asserts the freedoms of our citizens as laid down in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, including the right of access to the Internet, which is an integral part of freedom of expression and of information. Secondly, the compromise stipulates that the disproportionate solutions that were proposed to restrict the rights of Internet users are not legal. Thirdly, the compromise confirms that the option must always be provided to refer a case to a judge, an independent and impartial court, whose decision must be respected.
All that is included in the compromise, and I think that, on the basis of this compromise, the work that the Commission and Parliament will be undertaking in the very near future will have a solid foundation that will underline the rights of our citizens and the intrinsic values of our Europe.
Having said this, I would like to ask the Council to act quickly so that the final version of the text, which I hope will be voted for tomorrow, can be made available as soon as possible.
We now have a balanced text, which allows for markets to be opened up, investment, freedom on the Internet and the right to the Internet. We have a text that has potential for the development of the industry – and therefore for keeping and creating jobs – and for users. This text balances, on the one hand, the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs, and, on the other hand, many advances concerning the rights of consumers who use the Internet.
Allow me to answer some of the questions which have been raised.
One of the questions concerned investment in next-generation access networks by ensuring that telecom operators receive a fair return on investment, taking due account of the risk involved. It is already possible for several companies to share the investment risk under the current rules. The new rules confirm this and say at the same time that effective competition and non-discrimination rules have to be maintained. This is very important. I want to underline it because I sometimes hear only part of the story, but it is the whole story on investment which has to be applied in practice.
The second question concerns data breaches. Operators must assume the responsibility that comes with processing and storing these huge amounts of information. The new rules therefore introduce mandatory notifications for personal data breaches for the first time in European law. This means that communication providers will be obliged to inform the authorities and their customers about security breaches affecting their personal data. In addition, the rules concerning privacy and data protection are strengthened in such areas as the use of cookies and similar devices. Internet users will be better informed about what happens to their personal data and will find it easier to exercise control over their personal information in practice.
A second element concerns a more open and neutral Internet for consumers. European consumers will have an ever greater choice of competing broadband service providers available to them. Internet service providers have powerful tools at their disposal that allow them to differentiate between the various types of data transmission on the Internet, such as voice or peer-to-peer communication. Even though traffic management can allow premium high-quality services to develop and can help ensure secure communications, the same techniques may also be used to degrade the quality of communications or other services to unacceptably low levels. That is why, under the new EU rules, national telecom authorities will have the power to set a minimum quality level for network transmission services so as to promote net neutrality and net freedoms for European citizens.
In the new text, we have added new transparency requirements which are of the utmost importance.
The fourth element I would like to underline is the recognition of the right to Internet access. The new rules recognise explicitly that Internet access is a fundamental right such as the freedom of expression and the freedom to access information. The rules therefore provide that any measures taken regarding access to, or use of, services and applications must respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, including the right to privacy, freedom of expression and access to information and education as well as due process.
Madam President, I thought it was very important to emphasise these fundamental rights because they form the basis for our European values, European values that are also based on the new telecom rules."@en1
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