WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3515/98 by Amedeo AMADEO Globalization and the Information Society
Date: 1998-11-25
Institutions: AMADEO, European Parliament
Subjects: OECD, code of conduct, communications policy, competition law, distance selling, electronics, international trade, intra-EU trade, legal code, prices policy

C 325/14

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

12.11.1999

There is a need for European rules because 90 % of trade is intra-Community.

Can the Commission therefore endeavour to ensure that the legal framework is drafted realistically, given that
the more detailed it is the less likely it is to be recognised outside the Community, and that in other words the
rules should do no more than lay down basic universally acceptable principles?

(1999/C 325/016)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3515/98

by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission

(25 November 1998)

Subject: Globalization and the Information Society

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 0 Globalization and the Information
Society 0 The need for strengthened international coordination (COM(98) 50 final), the Commission
mentions, in connection with access to the market, the significant obstacle of the high cost of telecommunica-
tions, whilst recognising that considerable price reductions have occurred as a result of falling costs and greater
competition.

Whilst it is not the task of the authorities to regulate prices, which must be left to the interaction of free market
forces, can the Commission endeavour to ensure compliance with the principles of transparency (including
inter alia the ability to compare prices and services) and of the provisions governing competition and
dominant positions?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-3514/98 and E-3515/98
given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission

(12 January 1999)

All markets need rules of the game in order to function effectively. The electronic marketplace is no exception.
A clear and stable regulatory environment will enable businesses to exploit new market opportunities and
generate trust and confidence in this new medium for consumers. In principle, there should be no
discrimination between off-line and on-line regimes. Public authorities need to remove or update old rules
where they create undue barriers to market developments, and need to set up new rules where a legal vacuum
gives rise to uncertainty. Governments increasingly have to acknowledge that where voluntary codes of
conduct or technological solutions developed by businesses and users prove to be effective, it may be
unnecessary to introduce regulations.

In a global electronic marketplace where services do not stop at frontiers, national or regional rules can no
longer be introduced in isolation if they are to be correctly enforced. Similarly, conflicting national rules will
create uncertainty. The borderless nature of the Internet means that any internal solution within the
Community should take into account this global dimension. Currently, 90 % of trade in the Community is
intra-Community. However, growth of electronic commerce is likely to give rise to an increase in the
proportion of extra-Community trade. Consumers will increasingly be comfortable buying on-line from
foreign providers. This points to the need to build consensus on guidelines at a global level as underlined in the
communication on globalisation and the information society (1).

This is not to say that securing the internal market for electronic commerce is a secondary goal. In fact, solving
the trans-national problems inherent in guaranteeing the free movement of services throughout the internal
market places the Community in a strong position to lead discussions at international level.

The need to take the global dimension into account in the policy-making process can already be seen in the
Community. For instance, even where international guidelines exist, for example the Organisation for
economic cooperation and development (OECD) guidelines on privacy, European-wide regulation may be
required to fill in gaps or to provide a higher level of protection. On the other hand, the proposed directive on
electronic signatures (2)
foresees cooperation mechanisms with third countries to ensure the mutual
recognition of certificates under strict conditions.