Amendment 138 is still alive and kicking. In the absence of agreement under the Czech EU Presidency, it will now be up to the Swedes to work out a solution to the telecoms package.

The Union has in fact wrapped up 99% of the reform of rules for the telecoms sector, but the ticklish question of the right to internet access, which MEPs are protecting through an amendment confirmed by a wide majority last May (second reading), still needs to be settled. Amendment 138 states that any restriction on internet access requires a “prior decision” by a court, in the name of the fundamental right to information and freedom of expression. The French Constitutional Court confirmed that view by striking down the penalties section of the law initiated by Nicolas Sarkozy against illegal downloading, whereby penalties would be imposed by an independent administration.

Most member states are still opposed to Amendment 138, however, out of concern for their own legal system. Germany, for example, is worried about possible constraints on combating online child pornography.

So the Czechs failed on this point. The EP and the Council nevertheless seem to agree not to re-open the whole package, although rapporteur Catherine Trautmann recently expressed concern, at a conference on radio frequencies on 16 June in Brussels, over articles in the press reporting that “some countries could take advantage of the difficulties to collapse the whole package”. She is nevertheless “optimistic” considering the Swedish EU Presidency’s strong organisation and determination to bring the reform to conclusion.

Negotiations between the EP and the Council should resume in September in the conciliation committee (third reading). They will have six weeks to come to an agreement. The telecoms package creates a European regulator, strengthens the Commission’s regulatory powers, paves the way to an EU strategy on radio frequencies and offers consumers increased protection.

DIGITAL DIVIDEND

Sweden has been a pioneer in liberalising radio frequencies and also plans to place emphasis on the digital dividend, namely the frequencies freed up when television switches fully to digital (by 2012, according to the Commission’s recommendations), which could be used for mobile internet.

This frequency band (UHF) is perfectly “suited to broadband mobile with wide-ranging network coverage, which allows good communication even in less populated areas,” states the presidency’s programme. “If more countries manage the digital dividend with greater coordination, there will be major benefits for the public,” it adds.

If the member states work in a coordinated way to allocate this band to other services, the Commission promises “an economic potential of €150 billion to €200 billion”. According to the EU executive, “the idea is not to find a one-size-fits-all solution but for all the member states to move in the same direction and in coordination”.

The EU still has to untangle the knot of the right of access to internet 

Meetings

26-27 October, Göteborg: High-level meeting on greater use of new and existing technologies, concerning new techniques for safe and ecological road transport

10-11 November, Visby: High-level conference on ‘Giving impetus to online Europe’, focusing on the information society of the future

18-19 November, Malmö: informal meeting of ministers and conference on e-government

17-18 December, Brussels: Telecoms Council