WRITTEN QUESTION E-0742/01 by Giles Chichester (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Unbundling the local loop.
Date: 2001-03-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Internet, communications policy, regulation of telecommunications, supervisory power, transmission network, web surfer

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/113

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(8 May 2001)

Following the resolution of the Research Council of 15 June 2000 inviting the Commission to map
scientific and technological excellence in all the Member States by the end of 2001, the Commission, with
the help of a group of representatives appointed by the Member States, undertook to establish the
objectives and expected results of the exercise.

On the basis of discussions with the said group, supplemented by expert consultations, the Commission
produced a working paper (1) setting out the methodology to be applied and a timetable for the exercise.
This was sent to Parliament and the Council on 12 March 2001.

In the first phase, the exercise will be limited to mapping ten or so emerging scientific and technological
fields spread over the areas of Life sciences, Nanotechnologies and Economics. An expert panel will be set
up for each of these fields to help the Commission characterise the field by keywords and identify best
research capacity, initially on the basis of surveys. In parallel with this, a bibliometric analysis will be
launched to identify competent and excellent entities on the basis of objective data. The experts(cid:146) findings
should be available in October 2001, while the bibliometric study will produce its first results at the end of
2001. The two sets of results will be compared and consolidated at the beginning of 2002.

The exercise will be conducted in such a way that the majority of areas of science and technology of
relevance to the Community are mapped by the end of 2002.

(1) SEC(2001) 434.

(2001/C 318 E/119)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0742/01

by Giles Chichester (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 March 2001)

Subject: Unbundling the local loop

The 2000 Lisbon European Council called on (cid:145)the Member States, together with the Commission, to work
towards introducing greater competition in local access networks before the end of 2000 and unbundling
the local loop in order to help bring about a substantial reduction in the costs of using the Internet.(cid:146)
Following the adoption of the Regulation on this matter in December 2000, does the Commission
consider that the local loop is now fully unbundled in all Member States, and what cost reductions in
Internet use have been achieved as a result?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(7 June 2001)

Following the Lisbon European Council in March 2000, the Parliament, the Council and the Commission
engaged in an intensive process of co-operation which resulted in the rapid adoption of the Regulation
(EC) No 2887/2000 of the Parliament and the Council of 18 December 2000 on unbundled access to the
local loop (1) This legislation was necessary to achieve competition in the local access network.

It is the task of the Commission to monitor the effective application of the Regulation in the Member
States so as to ensure that it takes effect in a timely and efficient manner.

first and foremost,

the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) have a significant role in the
But
implementation process. Their tasks and responsibilities are clearly listed in the Regulation and the
effective application of the Regulation is a top priority in the Member States. In addition, the complexity of
ensuring that the Regulation takes full effect should not be underestimated. The Commission recognises
this complexity, which requires careful consideration of all issues by the NRAs, and, while monitoring the
situation closely, the Commission does not expect its full effects to be immediate.

C 318 E/114

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

the moment

full unbundled access is being provided in eight Member States, with a total of
At
introduction of full
approximately 376 000 lines now fully unbundled.
unbundled access is imminent or at
the state of
implementation of this regulation will be sent directly to the Honourable Member and to the secretariat
general of the Parliament.

In the other Member States,

the trial stage. The most

recent overview of

As a general principle it can be expected that the process of liberalisation gives rise to reduction in costs.
The Commission has not yet received enough information about the tariff structures applied by the
Member States in order to publish economic data reaching the necessary level of significance needed. The
Commission is however closely following the implementation of Community laws in the Member States.
As soon as the appropriate level of significance of
this
information will be made available. The development of competition in the telecommunications sector
since 1 January 1998 has been no exception. The reduction in the cost of Internet access which has been
seen in some Member States may be partly attributable to the adoption of the Regulation, but could also
be related to other positive developments in the market, e.g. the determination of flat rate call origination
tariffs in a number of Member States.

the reduction in costs has been reached,

(1) OJ L 336, 30.12.2000.

(2001/C 318 E/120)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0744/01

by Fran(cid:231)ois Bayrou (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: European Development Fund and health policy

(9 March 2001)

Given the new ACP-EU agreements signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000, the funds available under the
Ninth EDF (€ 13 800 million) and, finally, the resolution adopted at the most recent meeting of the
it appears
Development Council on 10 November 2000 on transmissible diseases and poverty,
incontrovertible that the Commission and Council constantly renew the support given by the European
Union and its Member States to the ACP States, with particular regard to public health policy.

Accordingly, would the Commission please indicate the funds made available to certain organisations
renowned for their campaigns against handicaps such as blindness (Institute for Tropical Ophthalmology
in Africa (cid:129) IOTA (cid:129) which has its headquarters in Bamako, Mali) following the dissolution in particular of
the Cooperation and Coordination Organisation for the Control of the Major Endemic Diseases, in the
knowledge that funds must be made available for campaigns to treat transmissible diseases such as AIDS
but that such funds must not be provided at the expense of the campaigns against the major endemic
diseases which are, unfortunately, still present in a large number of African countries?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(16 May 2001)

The Commission recognises the importance of maintaining a high level of support to public health policy
in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. Commitment to health remains high, and the Commission
has included the fight against poverty with a particular focus on health and education among its priorities
for 2002. The Commission anticipates that many ACP states will define health as a priority area during the
programming of 9th European development fund (EDF) funds.

The Commission accepts that accelerated action against the major communicable diseases,
including
human immuno-deficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), must not be at the
expense of work on health policy and endemic diseases, particularly within Africa. Most Community
funding for health, AIDS and population supports national efforts to strengthen health systems and will
continue to do so.

The Community funds various initiatives related to communicable diseases and their resulting disability.
The Commission supports the Onchocerciasis Control Programme and the Programme of Support to the
Fight Against Blindness. The latter programme includes support to the reorganisation of the Institute of
Tropical Ophthalmology (IOTA) as an autonomous organisation attached to the Ministry of Health of Mali.