A4-0402/96

Decision on the common position established by the Council with a view to the adoption of a European Parliament and Council Directive amending Council Directives 90/387/EEC and 92/44/EEC for the purpose of adaptation to a competitive environment in telecommunications (C4-0469/96 - 95/0280(COD))

(Codecision procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the common position of the Council, C4-0469/96 - 95/0280(COD),

- having regard to its opinion at first reading ((OJ C 166, 10.6.1996, p. 87. )) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council, COM(95)0543 ((OJ C 62, 1.3.1996, p. 3.)),

- having regard to the amended Commission proposal, COM(96)0418 ((OJ C 291, 4.10.1996, p. 18. )),

- having regard to Article 189b(2) of the EC Treaty,

- having regard to Rule 72 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (A4-0402/96),

1. Amends the common position as follows;

2. Calls on the Commission to support Parliament's amendments in the opinion it is required to deliver pursuant to Article 189b(2)d) of the EC Treaty;

3. Calls on the Council to approve all Parliament's amendments, amend its common position accordingly and definitively adopt the act;

4. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and the Commission.

(Amendment 2)

ARTICLE 1(5)

Article 5(4) (Directive 90/387/EEC)

>Original text>

4. Where a Member State or the Commission considers that the harmonized standards and/or specifications referred to in paragraph 1 do not correspond to the objective of open and efficient access, interconnection and interoperability, in particular the basic principles and the essential requirements referred to in Article 3, it shall be decided whether or not it is necessary to withdraw references to those standards and/or specifications from the Official Journal of the European Communities in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10.

>Text following EP vote>

4. Where a Member State or the Commission considers that the harmonized standards and/or specifications referred to in paragraph 1 do not correspond to the objective of open and efficient access, interconnection and interoperability, in particular the basic principles and the essential requirements referred to in Article 3, it shall be decided whether or not it is necessary to withdraw references to those standards and/or specifications from the Official Journal of the European Communities in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 9.

(Amendment 3)

ARTICLE 1(7)

Articles 6 and 7 (Directive 90/387/EEC)

>Original text>

7. Articles 6 and 7 shall be deleted.

>Text following EP vote>

7. Articles 6 and 7 shall be replaced by the following:

'The Commission shall, before 31 January 1997, draw up a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the costing and financing of universal service¨.

(Amendment 4)

ARTICLE 1(8)

Article 8 (Directive 90/387/EEC)

>Original text>

The Commission shall examine and report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the functioning of this Directive, on the first occasion no later than 31 December 1999. The report shall be based inter alia on the information supplied by the Member States to the Commission and to the committee referred to in Articles 9 and 10. Where necessary, further measures for the adaptation of this Directive, taking account of developments towards a fully competitive environment, may be proposed in the report.

>Text following EP vote>

The Commission shall examine and report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the functioning of this Directive, on the first occasion no later than 31 December 1999. The report shall be based inter alia on the information supplied by the Member States to the Commission and to the committee referred to in Articles 9 and 10. Where necessary, the report shall examine what provisions of this Directive together with other Community Directives relating to the implementation of ONP provisions and to the new regulatory environment for telecommunications should be adapted in the light of the developments in the market. Further measures may be proposed in the report for the full implementation of the aims of these Directives, which shall take the form of a proposal for a single consolidated text; in particular, the report shall examine the possibility of establishing a European Regulatory Authority.

(Amendment 5)

ARTICLE 2(3)

Article 2(2), first indent (Directive 92/44/EEC)

>Original text>

* 'leased lines¨ shall mean the telecommunications facilities which provide for transparent transmission capacity between network termination points and which do not include on-demand switching (switching functions which the user can control as part of the leased line provision),

>Text following EP vote>

* 'leased lines¨ shall mean the telecommunications facilities which provide for transparent transmission capacity between network termination points and which do not include on-demand switching (switching functions which the user can control as part of the leased line provision), and fixed public telephone network lines used exclusively for the voice telephony service,

(Amendment 6)

ARTICLE 2(12)

Article 14 (Directive 92/44/EEC)

>Original text>

The Commission shall examine and report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the functioning of this Directive, on the first occasion no later than 31 December 1999. The report shall be based inter alia on the information supplied by the Member States to the Commission and to the open network provision Committee. The report shall include an assessment of the need for continuation of this Directive, taking account of developments towards a fully competitive environment. Where necessary, further measures for the adaptation of this Directive may be proposed in the report.

>Text following EP vote>

The Commission shall examine and report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the functioning of this Directive, on the first occasion no later than 31 December 1999. The report shall be based inter alia on the information supplied by the Member States to the Commission and to the Open Network Provision Committee. Where necessary, the report shall examine what provisions of this Directive together with other Community Directives relating to the implementation of ONP provisions and to the new regulatory environment for telecommunications should be adapted in the light of the developments in the market. Further measures may be proposed in the report for the full implementation of the aims of these Directives, which shall take the form of a proposal for a single consolidated text; in particular, the report shall examine the possibility of establishing a European Regulatory Authority.

(Amendment 7)

ANNEX I

Annex (4), first two subparagraphs (Directive 92/44/EEC)

>Original text>

Numbering/addressing and in some instances naming provide for the selection of the destination or destinations, or for the selection of a service, of a service provider or a network operator.

>Text following EP vote>

Numbering/addressing and in some instances naming provide for the selection of the destination or destinations, or for the selection of a service, and, if necessary, subject to the availability of the number portability function, of a service provider or a network operator.

>Original text>

Adherence to a harmonized approach for numbering/addressing and, where applicable, naming is therefore essential to guarantee Europe-wide end-to-end interconnection of users and the interoperability of services. Furthermore, the allocation of numbers/addresses/names should be fair, proportionate and consistent with the requirements for equal access.

>Text following EP vote>

Adherence to a harmonized approach for numbering/addressing and, where applicable, naming is therefore essential to guarantee Europe-wide end-to-end interconnection of users, the interoperability of services and number portability. Furthermore, the allocation of numbers/addresses/names should be fair, proportionate and consistent with the requirements for equal access.