Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the idea of using the radio spectrum to transmit signals revolutionised telecommunications and new applications for the radio spectrum have been developed continuously ever since. Thus, we have progressed from the simple wireless telegraph to the digital transmission of sound and image, satellite navigation and the third generation of mobile telephones. I should like at this point to stress that the radio spectrum is not used solely for telecommunications. Apart from applications based on the transmission and reception of radio signals, there are also ‘passive’ applications which just receive signals emitted by natural phenomena. The main applications here are radio-astronomy, which studies natural phenomena beyond our planet on the basis of the radio waves which they emit, and Earth observation, both of which use the radio spectrum. The constant increase in the demand for radio frequencies for new applications is such that we need to review the principles on which they are distributed and the policy which the European Union needs to apply in this sector. The European Commission responded to this need by publishing a Green Paper on Radio Spectrum Policy for public consultation at the end of 1998. It subsequently issued the communication which we are examining today on the basis of the aforementioned public consultation. The Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, having expressed its satisfaction with the work of the European Commission, has come to a number of conclusions and has formulated a number of principles. Starting from the premise that the spectrum is a valuable but scarce natural resource and that the demand for it is rising constantly, it stresses that it must be used efficiently in order to best serve the public interest and help develop new high-quality services. In this respect, the Committee on Industry considers that spectrum policy cannot be solely market-driven, that the economic and social value of the radio spectrum should not be assessed on the basis of profit opportunity and that we need a balanced combination of commercial and social interests. The Committee on Industry also stresses that specific measures need to be taken in order to guarantee a satisfactory number of frequencies for public and private radio and television broadcasts, for amateur radio operators, for navigation systems and for passive applications, such as radio-astronomy and Earth observation. The Committee on Industry accepts the proposal of the European Commission to create a Spectrum Policy Expert Group having a purely advisory role and transparent internal structure and modus operandi. However, although it acknowledges that it would be advisable to further harmonise Community radio spectrum policy to an extent, as far as pan-European services and applications are concerned, it does not accept the European Commission’s proposal for a new regulatory framework at pan-European level, considering this to be both premature and hurried. I should like to draw your attention to one issue which seriously worried the Committee on Industry and which Mr Paasilinna mentioned just now. I refer to the degree to which the principle of spectrum pricing, auctioning and the introduction of a secondary market should be adopted. Your rapporteur takes the view that radio frequencies per se should not be bought and sold, because this would result in frequencies’ being diverted from their intended purpose. Other practices, such as auctions and a secondary market, would result, with mathematical accuracy, in the prevalence of stronger economic interests, which would then monopolise the market. Your rapporteur is in favour of an overall payment for each commercial service which uses the spectrum. The Committee on Industry did not adopt my view and, although not in favour of auctions in all cases, considers that they could be applied for commercial uses. I should like to point out to members that the results of the recent auction of radio frequencies for third generation mobile telephones in the United Kingdom have given rise to second thoughts on the subject. The huge sums paid will not come out of the companies’ profits; they will be paid for by users. I have heard that in the United Kingdom, in order to find the money paid at auction, every man, woman and child will need to spend 400 pounds a year on telephone calls. We must not lose sight of the consequences which such practices will have on the final user. I therefore call upon the House to vote in favour of Amendments Nos 4, 12, 5 and 6, so that our final resolution includes a clear position against auctions.

Political group: GUE-NGL