Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive on the application of open network provision (ONP) to voice telephony and on universal service for telecommunications in a competitive environment` (97/C 133/14)

On 10 February 1997, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 100a of the Treaty on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, set up a study group and appointed Mr Pé as rapporteur.

At its 343rd plenary session (meeting of 27 February 1997) the Committee appointed Mr Pé as rapporteur-general and adopted the following opinion by 87 votes, with no dissenting votes and two abstentions.

1. The Commission proposal

1.1. The proposal is connected with the updating of the European Parliament and Council Directive 95/62/EC of 13 December 1995 on the application of open network provision (ONP) to voice telephony (). Article 32 of the directive provides for a review before 1 January 1998.

1.2. The proposed directive is intended to replace the existing directive 95/62/EC.

1.3. As its title indicates, the main new feature of the proposed directive is the definition of universal service for telecommunications in a competitive environment.

2. General comments

2.1. The Committee opinion of 31 May 1995 () noted the following: 'The proposed directive itself is independent of any particular degree of liberalization and leaves it to the individual Member State to notify to the Commission those telecommunications organizations to which the directive shall apply. This in line with the subsidiarity principle; however, depending on the precision of the definition of the scope of ONP, this may lead to some variation in the application of ONP in each Member State`.

2.2. The proposal defines the different types of entities covered and describes the scope of the universal service, thus responding to the views expressed by the ESC in 1990 and 1995.

2.3. In its previous opinions, the ESC referred to the need to define a minimum set of services following the abolition of monopoly (). The current definition of universal service for telecommunications covers speech, facsimile and/or data communications and a basic range of facilities, including itemized billing and tone dialling. The ESC, while agreeing with this definition, nevertheless thinks that universal service must not necessarily be mistaken for a minimum service, for that could lead people to believe that only minimum rights are guaranteed in Europe. This would be all the more regrettable given that the proposed directive seeks to define universal service with regard to voice telephony in far more precise terms than before.

2.4. Mobile services should not be fully excluded from the scope of the proposal. A number of provisions - such as the rules governing subscribers' contracts and information services - should apply to mobile and fixed telephone services.

3. Specific comments

3.1. The Committee is pleased to see that Article 3 refers to the need to make universal service available throughout the territory of each Member State. However, the arrangements provided for in the second paragraph of Article 3 could well lead to the distortion of competition. If in some Member States the costs of providing universal service were shared amongst all operators while in other Member States they were supported through the budget, it is clear that the price charged to users would differ. It is important that the present proposal, the future Directive on interconnection () and the Commission communication of 27 November 1996 () be consistent.

3.2. The ESC is pleased to see that the draft directive, in line with its previous recommendation, covers facilities additional to universal service (Articles 14 and 15 of the draft directive, which are an improvement on Article 9 of the existing directive). However, the ESC would, in the interests of regional development, like the notion of 'reasonable requests` to be clarified [Article 5(1)]. In addition, Article 5 in its present wording makes it obligatory to meet all reasonable requests for connection and requires all fixed network operators to fulfil the same obligations as universal service operators. Newcomers would also be put under this obligation, which represents a heavy and discouraging burden. It is therefore suggested that the following addition be made to the first sentence of Article 5(1):

'....are met by at least one operator in each part of their territory. They may, if necessary, appoint at least one operator for this purpose.`

3.3. Similarly, the ESC notes with satisfaction that directory services are to be subject to universal service obligations.

3.4. The ESC also welcomes the requirement to provide general access to a single emergency call number (112).

Brussels, 27 February 1997.

The President of the Economic and Social Committee

Tom JENKINS

() OJ No L 321, 30. 12. 1995, p. 6.

() OJ No C 236, 11. 9. 1995, p. 38 (rapporteur: Mr Green).

() OJ No C 19, 25. 1. 1993, p. 126 (point 2.2).

() COM(95) 379 final (OJ No C 313, 24. 11. 1995, p. 7); ESC opinion: OJ No C 153, 28. 5. 1996, p. 21.

() Commission Communication on assessment criteria for national schemes for the costing and financing of universal service in telecommunications and guidelines for the Member States on operation of such schemes (COM(96) 608).