A4-0306/95

Resolution concerning the draft Commission Directive amending Directive 90/388/EEC with regard to mobile and personal communications (SEC(95)1382 - C4-0364/95)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the draft Commission Directive amending Directive 90/388/EEC with regard to mobile and personal communications (SEC(95)1382 -C4-0364/95),

- having regard to Article 90 of the EC Treaty,

- having regard to its resolutions of 7 April and 19 May 1995 on the Commission's Green Paper on the liberalization of telecommunications infrastructure and cable television networks ((OJ C 109, 1.5.1995, p. 310. OJ C 151, 19.6.1995, p. 479.)) and its resolution of 19 May 1995 on the Commission communication to the European Parliament and the Council entitled 'Towards the personal communications environment: Green Paper on a common approach in the field of mobile and personal communications in the European Union' and on the Commission communication to the European Parliament and the Council on the consultation on the Green Paper on mobile and personal communications (( OJ C 151, 19.6.1995, p. 473.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the opinion of the Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy (A4-0306/95),

A. whereas the Commission, in the present draft Directive, is acting upon its Green Paper, on which Parliament was able to give a generally favourable opinion,

B. whereas the Commission has incorporated in its draft Directive several elements which were missing from the Green Paper and the importance of which was stressed by Parliament, particularly:

- the fundamental role, for mobile communications, of the availability of a frequency spectrum which is sufficiently wide to allow investment to be planned in a predictable environment;

- the fact that the number of licences awarded must be commensurate with a capacity to meet the general terms governing service authorization and, in particular, public-service constraints;

- the chance for any given operator to offer a combination of different, complementary mobile technologies;

- the application of the rules of competition and the abolition of exclusive and special rights and the lifting of restrictions on access to alternative telecommunications and teledistribution infrastructures for the supply of mobile communications by 1 January 1996,

C. whereas the liberalization of the European mobile telecommunications market must not work to the advantage of operators in third countries unless these countries provide reciprocity for European suppliers,

1. Welcomes the Commission's draft directive in both its principles and its objectives;

2. Points out, however, that the procedure set out in Article 90(3), while providing a justifiable means of eliminating regulatory obstacles to competition, is nevertheless not intended as a substitute for the legislative instruments laid down by the Treaty, particularly Article 100a thereof, for the purpose of defining the operating rules of a given economic sector in the Union;

3. Takes the view, in particular, that the provisions of the draft directive must apply without prejudice to future Community legislation relating to the organization of telecommunications in the Union, particularly to interconnection and interoperability, the rules applying to universal service and those relating to numbering and directory services;

4. Stresses the need for transparency both in the conditions for granting licences and the arrangements for the use by mobile systems operators of their right to interconnection;

5. Rejects any derogation from the liberalization of the personal communications market in a given Member State which is not explicitly and transparently justified by the carrying out of the necessary structural adjustments;

6. Believes therefore that the following modifications must be made to the Commission's draft directive:

(Modification 1)

ARTICLE 1(2)

Article 3A, third paragraph (Directive 90/388/EEC)

>Original text>

Member States may limit the number of licences for mobile and personal systems to be issued only on the basis of essential requirements, such as efficient use of frequencies, where justified under the principle of proportionality.

>Text following EP vote>

Member States may limit the number of licences for mobile and personal systems to be issued on the sole basis of essential requirements in relation to the limitation of the frequency spectrum as defined and updated in accordance with Article 3B of this Directive, and where this is justified under the principle of proportionality.

(Modification 2)

ARTICLE 1(2)

Article 3A, fifth paragraph (Directive 90/388/EEC)

>Original text>

Member States which are granted an additional implementation period to abolish the restrictions with regard to infrastructure as provided for in Article 3C, shall not during that period grant any further mobile or personal communications licence to telecommunications organizations. Where telecommunications organizations do not or no longer enjoy exclusive rights for the establishment and the provision of the public network infrastructure, they shall not a priori be excluded from such licensing procedures.

>Text following EP vote>

Member States which are granted an additional implementation period to abolish the restrictions with regard to infrastructure as provided for in Article 3C shall not during that period grant any further mobile or personal communications licences to telecommunications organizations or to bodies associated with them. Where telecommunications organizations do not or no longer enjoy exclusive and special rights for the establishment and the provision of the public network infrastructure, they shall not a priori be excluded from such licensing procedures.

(Modification 3)

ARTICLE 1(2)

(Article 3D (Interconnection) of Directive 90/388/EEC)

>Original text>

Member States shall ensure that direct interconnection between mobile communications systems is allowed. To this extent, restrictions on interconnection shall be lifted and mobile communications systems for the public shall have the right to interconnect with the public telecommunications network. To this end, Member States shall define a minimum number of points of interconnection to the public fixed network in the licences for mobile services.

>Text following EP vote>

Without prejudice to the future harmonization of national interconnection systems in the context of ONP, Member States shall ensure that direct interconnection between mobile communications systems is allowed. To this extent, restrictions on interconnection shall be lifted and mobile communications systems for the public shall have the right to interconnect among themselves and with the public telecommunications networks. To this end, Member States shall guarantee access to the points of interconnection to the public fixed network in the licences for mobile services in accordance with rules and by means of interfaces which place no restriction on full utilization of the potential functions of the interconnected systems.

>Original text>

Member States shall ensure that interconnection conditions with the public telecommunications network of the telecommunications organizations are set on the basis of objective criteria, are transparent and non-discriminatory, and compatible with the principle of proportionality. They shall ensure that full access to interconnection is given to National Regulatory Authorities and that such information is made available to the Commission on request.

>Text following EP vote>

Member States shall ensure that interconnection conditions with the public telecommunications network of the telecommunications organizations are set on the basis of objective criteria, are transparent, particularly in respect of bookkeeping by operators running both fixed networks and mobile communications systems, non-discriminatory, compatible with the principle of proportionality and justified economically by the cost of providing the interconnection service. They shall ensure that full access to interconnection is given to National Regulatory Authorities and that such information is made available to the Commission on request.

(Modification 4)

ARTICLE 2, second paragraph a (new)

>Text following EP vote>

Where a Member State has already granted DCS 1800 licences at the time of entry into force of this Directive, the granting of new or supplementary licences for existing GSM or DCS 1800 operators may take place only in conditions of reciprocity, allowing the conditions of balanced competition between operators on the radiotelephony market to be observed. It shall be incumbent upon the Member State to define those conditions in accordance with this principle.

(Modification 5)

ARTICLE 4, second and third paragraphs

>Original text>

As regards the requirements set out in Article 3C, Member States with less developed networks may request an additional implementation period of up to five years, to the extent justifiable by the need to achieve the necessary structural adjustments. Member States with very small networks may, where justified, be granted a transition period of up to two years.

>Text following EP vote>

Member States with less developed networks may request an additional period of up to five years in which to implement all or some of the conditions set out in Article 3C of this Directive, to the extent justifiable by the need to achieve the necessary structural adjustments. Requests must include a detailed description of the planned adjustments and a precise assessment of the timetable envisaged for their implementation. They shall be made available to any interested party on request.

>Original text>

The Commission will assess such requests and take a decision within a time period of three months.

>Text following EP vote>

The Commission will assess such requests and take a reasoned decision within a time period of three months on the principle, implications and maximum duration of the additional period to be granted.

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council.