Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-02-Speech-2-215"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20080902.29.2-215"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Madam President, Commissioner, Ministers, ladies and gentlemen, for the reform of the regulatory framework that we are discussing to be justifiable, it has to bring about tangible improvements, both for consumers in terms of prices, access and connection speed and for companies in terms of the prospect of fair competition, new investment and competitiveness.
As regards radio spectrum, our proposals are directed towards more flexible management of this scarce resource but in a moderate and proportionate manner, whilst, at the same time, introducing measures aimed at optimising spectrum management. For us, the first building block is a genuine European spectrum policy that could be presented, once the package has been adopted, at a major conference to be held early in the next parliamentary term.
As regards new networks, these were absent from the Commission proposal, or poorly addressed, at a time when Europe is already involved in this technological revolution. We felt that it was essential immediately to provide the Member States and regulators with the guidelines and tools that they need to encourage investment and manage, where necessary, the deployment of these networks. For this reason, our proposals were validated by a panel of recognised experts just before the summer holidays.
A final issue has arisen rather late in the day: the protection of intellectual property rights. It is unfortunate that this debate has come to the fore at this stage in the review of the telecom package; I think that it would be out of place to discuss mechanisms for ensuring full respect for intellectual property rights here.
I just want to say that I hope that we shall be able to complete the review of this Package without undue pressure and without being disrupted by this issue, albeit an important one, given that creative content is the subject of a Commission communication. I shall deal with the remaining points in the two minutes that I have to conclude.
The large number of stakeholders involved means that there are divergent, even contradictory, interests at play. For my part, from a very early stage, I made a point of listening to views on all sides and also of sending a timely and reliable message to companies and consumers in order to build or rebuild their trust.
Electronic communications are a real opportunity for European growth. The sector accounts for 3% of European GDP. We still need to be able to reap the full benefits of this potential in the EU in terms of investment and the development of services. This requires competition, but not competition alone. Steps need to be taken to create conditions for responsible and sustainable development; in other words, to build an ecosystem for the sort of knowledge economy that we all want to see.
We must now consider ICT as a resource. It is therefore a matter of both public and private concern that requires us to support flexible rules and the responsibility of all stakeholders through cooperation between regulators and the Commission, in the same way that operators and customers cooperate on the basis of a contractual agreement.
There are four key areas that I want to see strengthened: firstly, customer service, whether in terms of access – through the more widespread territorial deployment of networks – fair prices or quality; secondly, sustained industrial activity with a view to stimulating job creation and innovation, since technological progress is also effective in bringing down prices; thirdly, the competitiveness of small and large companies in order to guarantee sustainable competition in the EU Member States and the necessary investment, especially in fibre optics, that will enable us to compete more effectively in a global market; and, finally, legal certainty – the need to ensure the reliability of the system by giving responsibility to those involved and encouraging mutual cooperation, especially among regulators but also between regulators and the Commission.
I was pleased to note that, on this basis, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy accepted my compromise proposals – often by a large majority – and I should like to thank my colleagues for making themselves so readily available, despite deadlines that were, at times, rather tight but which meant that we have been able to keep to the timetable with a view to achieving the objective of amending this Regulation before the end of the current parliamentary term. This is the result of a collective effort.
I personally feel that the sector has generally responded positively to these guidelines, and I hope that our partners in the Council will do likewise. I have listened carefully to Mr Chatel and Mr Besson and their views, as well as to Commissioner Reding, and I should like to thank them for their informed and generally positive opinions.
To come back to the points that are still under discussion, I should like to talk about the issue of remedies.
Without any encroachment on the powers of national regulators, a consensus has emerged on the need for a more consistent application of remedies at EU level. However, there has been unanimous – or almost unanimous – rejection of the Commission proposal that it should have the right to veto remedies. Under the mechanism provided for in my report, each body has its rightful place: the Commission may raise doubts about a remedy but cannot completely reject it unless BERT also delivers a negative opinion. Conversely, for functional separation to be imposed as a remedy, this would require the agreement of both the Commission and BERT. With a restriction of this nature, such separation remains a tangible threat but one which cannot be imposed lightly."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples