# EUR-Lex - 52012PC0430 - EN

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# 52012PC0430

**Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION Establishing the EU Position for the review of the International Telecommunications Regulations to be taken at the World Conference on International Telecommunications or its preparatory instances /* COM/2012/0430 final - 2012/0207 (NLE) */**

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.           CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

The International Telecommunications Union
(ITU) is a specialised agency of the United Nations, the aim of which is to
promote “international
cooperation among peoples and economic and social development by means of
efficient telecommunication services”. The 27 Member States of the European Union
(EU) are voting members of the ITU and the European Commission is a non-voting
sector member.

At the 2010 ITU Plenipotentiary,
it was decided to hold a World Conference on International Telecommunications
(WCIT) in Dubai from 3rd to 14th December 2012, with the
aim to revise the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs). The ITRs
define the general principles for
the provision and operation of international telecommunications and are
a global treaty signed by 178 countries.

While the ITRs address issues related to
international (as opposed to domestic) telecommunications services, there are
aspects of the ITRs that related directly to issues covered by the EU acquis,
in particular the Framework for electronic communications. The EU therefore
needs to ensure that any proposed changes to the ITRs that are agreed in Dubai
do not conflict with applicable legislation in the EU or restrict the EU as to
the future development of the EU acquis.

The Commission therefore recommends that the
Council adopts the attached decision in order to allow the EU to negotiate the
revision of the ITRs in Dubai. The legal basis for the proposed Council
Decision is:

Article
218(9) TFEU in respect of the proposed agreement with third countries, and

Article 114 TFEU in respect of the related
legal measures already adopted for electronic communications which may be
affected by such an agreement with third countries.

2.           Nature and scope of the discussions

As noted above, the ITRs provide for general principles for the provision and
operation of international telecommunications. These include specific
provisions related to:

Art. 3   International Network

Art. 4   International Telecommunication
Services

Art. 5   Safety of Life and Priority of
Telecommunications

Art. 6   Charging and Accounting

Art. 7   Suspension of Services

Art. 8   Dissemination of Information

Art. 9   Special Arrangements

Art. 10 Final Provisions

App. 1 General Provisions Concerning
Accounting

App. 2 Additional Provisions Relating to
Maritime Telecommu­nications

App.3  Service and Privilege
Telecommunications

During the negotiations, amendments may be
proposed that extend the scope of the current ITRs, either from a
technological, legal or market perspective.

The ITU has created a Council Working Group to review the ITRs and parallel regional
consultations are on-going. For the EU the relevant regional
forum is the European
Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), which comprises 48 countries including all EU
Member States. The European Commission participates in an advisory capacity in CEPT, with the right to speak
but not to vote.

The
final meeting of the Council Working Group prior to Dubai took place in Geneva
from 20-22 June 2012. CEPT will continue to engage in preparatory meetings in
September and November 2012.

3.           Preparations of the EU position

EU Member States have been active
participants in both the ITU Council Working Group and CEPT discussions on the
ITRs. Several of the draft “European Common Positions” being considered for
submission by CEPT to the WCIT for example, have been drafted by EU Member
States. The European Commission has also been active in both fora,
notwithstanding the limitations on its participation resulting from its current
status.

2012/0207 (NLE)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

Establishing the EU Position for the
review of
the International Telecommunications Regulations to be taken at the
World Conference on International Telecommunications or its preparatory
instances

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 114 and 218(9)
thereof,

Whereas:

(1)       The International
Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) were adopted by the World Administrative
Telegraphy and Telephone Conference in Melbourne in 1988 and have not been
revised since;

(2)       The 27 Member States of
the European Union are signatories of these ITRs;

(3)       The International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) has called for a meeting in Dubai from 3 until 14
December 2012, named the World Conference on International Telecommunications
(WCIT), to agree to a new text for these ITRs;

(4)       The European Union has
adopted legislation that establishes rules in the area of telecommunications,
in particular:
(a) Directive 2009/140/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25
November 2009 amending Directives 2002/21/EC on a common regulatory framework
for electronic communications networks and services, 2002/19/EC on access to,
and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated
facilities, and 2002/20/EC on the authorisation of electronic communications
networks and services;
(b) Directive 2009/136/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25
November 2009 amending Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users’
rights relating to electronic communications networks and services, Directive
2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of
privacy in the electronic communications sector and Regulation (EC) No
2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the
enforcement of consumer protection laws;
(c) Directive 2002/77/EC of 16 September 2002 on competition in the markets for
electronic communications networks and services;

(5)       Several of the proposals
tabled so far for changes to the ITRs relate to aspects of international
telecommunications that are clearly within the scope of the EU acquis and Union
policies, including the relationship between regulatory authorities and
independent commercial operators, roaming, and the protection of personal data.
As the ITRs are binding on Parties (unless a Party formally communicates its
objection to an amendment) this requires that the European Union has to
establish a position on those aspects of the proposed modifications to the ITRs
that will have legal effect;

(6)       The position of the
European Union within the WCIT needs to ensure that any changes to the ITRs are
compatible with the acquis ;

(7)       The European Commission
will inform the ITU about the respective competencies of the European Union and
its Member States on such matters;

(8)       Meetings have taken place
in the context of the European Conference of Postal and
Telecommunications (CEPT) to prepare European Common Positions on the ITR
review.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The position of the European Union at the
World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) from the 3rd to the
14th December 2012, in relation to matters falling within its competence, shall
be to ensure that any changes to the International Telecommunication
Regulations will be compatible with the EU acquis and further the Union's
objectives.

The European Commission shall present the
European Union position as set out in annex 1 on such matters.

Article 2

On other issues which are to be discussed
in the WCIT, Member States will aim to have common positions.

Done at Brussels,

For
the Council

The
President

Annex

(1) The overarching objective of the
European Union in relation to the WCIT is to ensure that any amendment to the
International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs) shall contribute to the
development of the information society for the benefit of all citizens and
telecommunications users world-wide, and users in the European Union in
particular and comply with the Union’s acquis and policy.

(2) The European Union shall take the
following position on proposals for decisions by the WCIT at its meeting in Dubai
between 3rd and 14th December 2012 and any related
preparatory meetings:

(a) Do not support any proposals that conflict with the EU acquis, or introduce
obligations on operators which go beyond those already provided for under the
EU acquis;

(b) Support proposals that respect the sovereignty of ITU
member states and in particular recognise those areas that are a national
matter such as cybercrime, content, national security and defence.

(c)
Support proposals that seek to ensure that the revised ITRs remain high level,
strategic and technology neutral and oppose proposals to make ITU
recommendations binding on ITU member states and operating agencies;;

(d) Support any proposals to
maintain the current scope of the ITRs and the current mandate of the ITU, oppose
any proposals to extend the scope to areas such as the routing of
Internet-based traffic, content-related issues;

(e)
Support proposals to respect human rights in relation to international
telecommunications, support proposals to respect privacy and personal data
protection in relation to personal data and communications (subject to 2(a)
above)

(f)
Support measures to promote greater international cooperation in relation to
the security of networks used for international telecommunications traffic;

(g)
Support pro-competitive measures intended to help achieve lower prices, and
greater transparency on prices, for international telecommunications traffic,
based on commercial negotiations in a free and fair marketplace;

(h)
Do not support proposals to establish, within the ITU, mechanisms to settle
disputes between operators as such mechanisms are not necessary;;

(i)
Support proposals that ensure that maritime communications can be charged in an
economically efficient way.

In order to make (2) (a) above explicit, EU agreement to any final outcome should be explicitly conditional
on the submission of a formal statement by the EU to other participants
regarding the applicability of EU regulatory provisions, as follows:

“In signing the Final Acts of the World
Conference on International Telecommunications (Dubai, 2012), the Delegations
of the Member States of the European Union declare that these States will apply
the International Telecommunication Regulations in accordance with their
obligations under the Treaty establishing the European Union.”.