COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 22 July 1993 on the review of the situation in the telecommunications sector and the need for further development in that market

(93/C 213/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Whereas both Council Directive 90/387/EEC of 28 June 1990 on the establishment of the internal market for telecommunications services trough the implementation of open network provision (1) and Commission Directive 90/388/EEC of 28 June 1990 on competition in the markets for telecommunications services (2) call for a review during 1992 of the conditions under which the telecommunications sector operates in the Community;

Whereas, on 21 October 1992, the Commission submitted to the Council a communication on the situation in the market for telecommunications services, which assessed, in particular, the competitive situation, progress on harmonization and restrictions concerning access to telecommunications networks, the effects of those restrictions on the operation of the internal market and the measures that could be taken to remove those restrictions; whereas the Commission requested the Member States and interested parties to give their opinions concerning the communication and the proposals contained in it;

Whereas, on 15 July 1992, the Commission also submitted to the Council a communication entitled: 'Towards cost orientation and the adjustment of pricing structures', assessing progress towards cost orientation and adjustment of pricing structures for telecommunications within the Community;

Whereas the European Parliament gave its opinion on both communications on 20 April 1993;

Whereas the resolution of 17 December 1992 (3) called upon the Commission to consider, in consultation with interested parties, the political, economic, commercial and social implications of the options set out in the Commission communication for the future of the Community telecommunications services market; whereas the Council requested the Commission, on the basis of the consultation, to set out a transparent approach and timetable for a future regulatory framework for the Community telecommunications market, so as to allow regulators and operators to plan the necessary adjustments at national level;

Whereas the Council established an ad hoc high level Committee of National Regulators to assist the Commission in this task whereas, in the aforementioned resolution, the Council welcomed the Commission's intention to report to it before the next meeting of the Council (Telecommunications Ministers);

Whereas the Commission has carried out a wide-ranging consultation with all those involved in the European telecommunications industry and, in particular, has received the opinion of the users of telecommunications services, telecommunications operators, equipment manufacturers, service providers and the trade unions;

Whereas, on the basis of this wide-ranging consultation, the Commission has submitted a further communication to the Council on the outcome of the consultation on the 1992 telecommunications services review,

NOTES, as general consensus resulting from the consultation, that:

1. there is a general acceptance that liberalization of telecommunications services markets is the inevitable result of technological and market developments;

2. a general requirement exists for maintaining the financial stability of the sector and safeguarding universal service, while proceeding with the necessary adjustment of tariff structures;

3. it is imperative to have a clear timetable for regulatory changes with defined milestones, in order to give the sector the necessary stability;

4. a realistic approach to further liberalization must be followed, taking into account the need for adjustment in peripheral regions with less developed networks;

5. there is a need for rapid and effective implementation of the current regulatory environment, in particular Directive 90/388/EEC;

6. there is general recognition of the value to users, industry and the whole of the European economy of a well-developed telecommunications infrastructure and of advanced and efficient telecommunications services;

7. the opening of the Community telecommunications market for third countries should be linked to comparable access to such countries' markets;

RECOGNIZES as key factors in the development of future regulatory policy for telecommunications in the Community:

1. the application of open network provision (ONP) measures, which constitute the basis for the definition of universal service and provide an appropriate framework for interconnection, the implementation of the principle of mutual recognition of national licences and authorizations based on harmonized conditions and with an interim solution based on one-stop-shopping procedure, as well as the development of the policy established in the Council resolution of 19 December 1991 (4) in respect of satellite communications, in particular the adoption of measures envisaged in that framework;

2. the importance, for the individual consumer, and for the competitiveness of Community industry and commercial users, of a Community telecommunications system offering to all users, including specific social groups, reasonable and affordable charges for access and use, high quality of service and technological innovation;

3. the application, where appropriate, of access charge principles by national regulatory authorities, taking into account, in particular, the need for tariff rebalancing and the provision of universal service;

4. the independence of telecommunications organizations for the determination of their commercial policy, subject to appropriate regulation by national authorities and the need for telecommunications organizations to be able to meet the increasing competition in the global market;

5. the need to take into account the objectives of Community cohesion in the light of the specific circumstances of peripheral regions;

6. the impact of the development of trans-European networks in the field of telecommunications;

7. the need to take account of changes in the overall employment situation within as well as outside the telecommunications sector;

8. the definition of a coherent policy concerning telecommunications infrastructure;

9. the establishment of a fair international trade environment allowing access to third country telecommunications markets comparable to that existing in the Community;

10. the development of a clear and stable regulatory framework based on the principle of subsidiarity;

11. the importance of competition rules in the new regulatory environment, taking into account the need for cooperation, inter alia for trans-European services, and the situation of operators in European and non-European telecommunications markets;

12. the continuing need for a harmonized and open market for telecommunications equipment and the need for comparable and effective access to third countries;

CONSIDERS as major goals for the Community's telecommunications policy in the short term:

1. the adoption of legislative proposals in the field of ONP and satellites, together with rapid and effective implementation of existing Community legislation in the field of telecommunications services and ONP;

2. the application throughout the Community and, where necessary, the adaptation, in the light of further liberalization, of ONP principes in respect of the entities covered and of such issues as universal service, interconnection and assess charges as well as the consequent questions connected with licensing conditions;

3. the development of future Community policy in the field of mobile and personal communications, to which the announced publication of a Green Paper on mobile communications will contribute;

4. the development of future Community policy in the field of telecommunications infrastructure and cable TV networks, to which the announced publication of a Green Paper in this area will contribute;

5. the working-out of arrangements for suitable measures in relation to specific difficulties encountered by the peripheral regions with less developed networks. Such measures, as a complement to national funding, should where appropriate, and taking into account the priorities set at national level, make full use of appropriate Community support frameworks to assist network development and universal service in peripheral regions;

6. the taking into account by the Commission, in the preparation of the steps to implement the goals of this Resolution, of the specific situation of small networks;

CONSIDERS as major goals for the Community's telecommunications policy in the longer term:

1. the liberalization of all public voice telephony services, whilst maintaining universal service;

2. ensuring the balance between liberalization and harmonization in an evolving market;

3. the examination, prior to full liberalization of all public voice telephony services, of progress on structural adjustment, in particular of tariffs, in those countries experiencing specific difficulties, in order to take account of the situation of the peripheral regions with less developed networks and of very small networks, including the fixing of additional transition periods, where justified;

4. the working out of a future policy for telecommunications infrastructure, on the basis of the result of a broad consultation process following the publication of the Green Paper on infrastructure;

INVITES the Commission and the Member States:

to continue consultation, in particular within the framework of the ad hoc high level Committee of National Regulators referred to in the resolution of 17 December 1992, with a view, inter alia, to the definition of a global and coherent framework for Community telecommunications policy, taking into account the regulatory changes envisaged by this resolution and aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of European operators;

URGES the Member States:

(a) to promote the progressive rebalancing of tariffs towards cost-orientation together with the continuing development of universal service to all users at rasonable charges;

(b) to provide for the necessary financial, organizational and management independence of telecommunications organizations, in order to allow them to prepare for the competitive environment;

GIVES ITS SUPPORT to the Commission's intention:

(a) to publish, before 1 January 1994, a Green Paper on mobile/personal communications;

(b) to publish, before 1 January 1995, a Green Paper on the future policy for telecommunications infrastructure and cable TV networks;

(c) to prepare, before 1 January 1996 the necessary amendments to the Community regulatory framework in order to achieve liberalization of all public voice telephony services by 1 January 1998. In order to allow Member States with less developed networks, i.e. Spain, Ireland, Greece and Portugal, to achieve the necessary structural adjustments, in particular of tariffs, these Member States are granted an additional transition period of up to five years. The Council notes the intention of the Commission to work closely with these Member States in order to achieve such adjustments as soon as possible and in the best possible way within the period. Very small networks can, where justified, be granted a period of up to two years;

REAFFIRMS

the necessity that conditions governing the liberalization of all public voice telephony services by 1 January 1998, as well as the definition of a future Community policy on infrastructure, should be the result of a political agreement building on the compromise of December 1989, and notes the Commission support for this approach;

REQUESTS the Commission to report to the European Parliament and the Council:

(a) on the progress made with regard to the implementation and effects of the measures referred to in this resolution before the end of 1994;

(b) with preliminary reflections on a global and coherent framework for a Community telecommunications policy before the end of 1993.

(1) OJ No L 192, 24. 7. 1990, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 192, 24. 7. 1990, p. 10.

(3) OJ No C 2, 6. 1. 1993, p. 5.

(4) OJ No C 8, 14. 1. 1992, p. 1.