Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2015:16
Date: 2015-01-15
Language of the case: Polish
Subject matter: Telecommunications
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Poland

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 16 April 2015 1. Approximation of laws — Telecommunications sector — Electronic communications networks and services — Regulatory framework — Directive 2002/21 — Universal service and users’ rights — Directive 2002/22 — Resolution of a dispute between undertakings providing electronic communications networks or services in a Member State — Measure which ensures access to non-geographic numbers and may affect trade between Member States — Obligation for the national regulatory authority to implement the procedure laid down in Article 7(3) of Directive 2002/21 (European Parliament and Council Directives 2002/21, Arts. 7(3) and 20, and 2002/22, Art. 28) 2. Approximation of laws — Telecommunications sector — Electronic communications networks and services — Regulatory framework — Directive 2002/21 — Universal service and users’ rights — Directive 2002/22 — Measure which ensures access to non-geographic numbers and affects trade between Member States — Condition — Determination by the national court (European Parliament and Council Directives 2002/21, Arts 7(3) and 2002/22, Art. 28) 1. Articles 7(3) and 20 of Directive 2002/21 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services must be interpreted as meaning that a national regulatory authority is required to implement the procedure laid down in the former of those provisions, which consists in making the draft measure which it intends to take accessible to the Commission and the national regulatory authorities in other Member States, if, in resolving a dispute between undertakings providing electronic communications networks or services in a Member State, it intends to impose obligations designed to ensure access to non-geographic numbers in accordance with Article 28 of Directive 2002/22 on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services and those obligations may affect trade between Member States. (see paras 35, 46, operative part 1) 2. The definition of the notion of ‘affect[ing] trade between Member States’, for the purpose of Article 7(3)(b) of Directive 2002/21 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services is analogous to that of the notion of ‘affect[ing] trade between Member States’, for the purposes of Articles 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU, and must therefore have the same scope for the purpose of the application of Article 7(3) of that directive. Consequently, Article 7(3) of that directive must be interpreted as meaning that a measure adopted by a national regulatory authority in order to ensure that end-users have access to non-geographic numbers in accordance with Article 28 of Directive 2002/22 on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services affects trade between Member States, within the meaning of that provision, if it may have, other than in an insignificant manner, an influence, direct or indirect, actual or potential, on that trade, this being a matter for the referring court to determine. (see paras 50, 59, operative part 2)