WRITTEN QUESTION P-1544/01 by Raina Echerer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. EU regulation on unbundled access to the local loop - situation in Austria.
Date: 2001-05-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Austria, Internet, communications policy, telecommunications, transmission network

4.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 340 E/237

The Commission fully agrees with the Honourable Member on the need to give issues relating to health
and safety at work a greater role in employment policy, and would like to draw her attention to the new
guideline 14c) of the guidelines for Member States(cid:146) employment policies for the year 2001, which deals
with this question.

Finally, the Honourable Member(cid:146)s attention is drawn to the fact that a new Community strategy on safety
and health at work is being drawn up. This strategy will establish a framework for future action to achieve
an ongoing improvement in the quality of work and thus in health and safety conditions for European
workers in the workplace.

(1) ESAW data (European Statistics on Accidents at Work) from Eurostat.
(2) Communication from the Commission on a Community programme concerning safety, hygiene and health at work

(1996-2000), (OJ C 262, 7.10.1995).

(3) Awareness actions on safety and health at work in general as well as the promotion and exchange of best practices

in SMEs.
(4)
Internal audit manual for SMEs (cid:129) Luxembourg 1995.
(5) Guidance on work-related stress (cid:129) Luxembourg 2000.
(6) Occupational exposure limits, recommendations of the Scientific Committee for Occupational Exposure Limits to

chemical agents 1994-1997 (cid:129) Luxembourg 1998.

(7) Health and safety training in the fisheries sector (cid:129) Luxembourg 1993, Health and safety in the construction sector

(cid:129) Luxembourg 1993.

(8) Closing conference (cid:129) ECSC Social Research (cid:129) Luxembourg 1999.

(2001/C 340 E/273)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1544/01

by Raina Echerer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(14 May 2001)

Subject: EU regulation on unbundled access to the local loop (cid:129) situation in Austria

Regulation (EC) 2887/2000 (1) of 18 December 2000 on unbundled access to the local loop took effect on
2 January 2001, is binding in all its parts and took effect in every EU Member State. The aim of this
regulation is to create fair competition in Internet services in local access networks. The designated
operator in each country, Telekom Austria in the case of Austria, is required to provide an offer in keeping
with this aim.

According to information from Austria, Telekom Austria is not complying with the regulation. Access is
still insufficiently unbundled, so that network components or facilities unnecessary for the provision of the
service still have to be paid for. Administrative and technical access to the local
loop is too time-
consuming and complicated. There are not enough collocation possibilities for all those who need them.
Tariffs have not yet been adjusted to actual costs. The calculation is insufficiently transparent. Interested
parties with little economic clout still have problems in accessing the local loop.

What is the Commission(cid:146)s source of information on Austria? Can the Commission be sure of receiving an
objective assessment of the situation in Austria?

What does the Commission propose to do in order to achieve full implementation of the regulation in
Austria?

(1) OJ L 336, 30.12.2000, p. 4.

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(21 June 2001)

According to Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2887/2000 of the Parliament and of the Council of
loop (1), notified operators shall publish from
18 December 2000 on unbundled access to the local
31 December 2000, and keep updated, a reference offer for unbundled access to their local loops and
related facilities (RUO), which shall at least include the items listed in the Annex. The offer shall be

C 340 E/238

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.12.2001

sufficiently unbundled so that the beneficiary does not have to pay for network elements or facilities which
are not necessary for the supply of its services, and shall contain a description of the components of the
offer, associated terms and conditions, including charges.

Telekom Austria (TA), notified as having significant market power in the Austrian interconnection market,
has submitted to the national regulatory authority (NRA) a RUO of 22 November 2000, which is also
available on the NRA(cid:146)s website (2). For the time being, TA(cid:146)s RUO, however, does not include shared access
to the local loop. Consequently, there is a need for the incumbent to adjust its RUO to correspond to the
requirements of the Regulation. The regulatory authority has urged TA to modify its RUO accordingly
before 31 May 2001.

In the meantime, access to the local
loop(cid:146)s broadband spectrum for service providers appears to be
possible in the following ways: according to a decision of the Telecom Control Commission of 12 March
2001, service providers are entitled to have fully unbundled access to the local loop. The decision also
provides for the necessary collocation. Pricing for collocation is based on actual costs. Furthermore, TA
and the association of Austrian internet service providers (ISPA) have agreed on a standard wholesale offer
by TA to ISPs. TA has also put a standard wholesale offer on its website concerning bitstream access to
ADSL services on its local loop. According to the information available to the Commission, no ISP has so
far requested shared access from TA or launched a dispute settlement procedure before the national
regulatory authority.

The information on the Austrian situation is based on information publicly available on the national
regulator(cid:146)s website, data received directly from the Austrian regulator and information regularly provided
by the Austrian delegation in the ONP Committee.

The Commission is following very closely the implementation of the current legal framework in general,
and is aware of the complexity of pricing and collocation issues in many Member States. It will continue to
monitor the provisions relating to local loop unbundling in the Member States, in close co-operation with
the operators and service providers concerned, with a view to encouraging its full application throughout
the Community. The responsible Member of the Commission gave an up-date on the implementation of
the Regulation on local loop unbundling to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy on 12 June
2001.

The Commission draws attention to the fact that a complaint has been filed with regard to the lack of
implementation of shared access in Austria which will be dealt with according to the Commission(cid:146)s
internal rules of procedures.

(1) OJ L 336, 30.12.2000.
(2) http://www.rtr.at/.

(2001/C 340 E/274)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1547/01

by Pierre Jonckheer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(14 May 2001)

Subject: CN-101 (formerly GU-117) road improvement project in the Carrascosa de Henares area

On 8 March 2001 the Commission replied to Question E-3712/00 (1) by Mr Paul Lannoye on the road
improvement works between the GU-177 and the district of Jadraque (Guadalajara), confirming that (cid:145)the
CN-101 (formerly GU-117) road improvement project received co-financing from the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF) under the 1994-1999 Castilla-La Mancha operational programme(cid:146). However,
this project is having a damaging effect on the Natura 2000 (cid:145)Ribera de r(cid:237)o Henares(cid:146) site (LIC ES424003)
and on the groundwater of the river Henares, and has not been sujbect to an environmental
impact
assessment.

Does the Commission not consider it necessary to demand repayment of the European funding in
question?