WRITTEN QUESTION E-1699/01 by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Poor quality of fixed-line telephone services in Greece.
Date: 2001-06-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, Greece, State monopoly, consumer protection, liberalisation of the market, quality standard, telecommunications industry

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/181

(2001/C 364 E/200)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1699/01

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Poor quality of fixed-line telephone services in Greece

(14 June 2001)

The quality of
fixed-line telephone services in Greece, which are provided by the Hellenic Tele-
is extremely poor. For example, the waiting period for a new
communications Organisation (OTE),
telephone connection is five working days, 17,4 % of connections have at least one technical problem per
year and in at least 10 % of those cases, it takes two or more days to restore the line to working order. As
a result of such poor quality, the level of satisfaction of Greek citizens with fixed-line telephone services in
1999 was appreciably below the EU average, according to the European Customer Satisfaction Index.

1. What were the corresponding quality indicators for fixed-line telephone services in the other Member
States in 1999?

2.

Does the Commission have more recent data for these particular indicators in the Member States?

3. What other indicators are used to measure the quality of fixed-line telephone services in the EU and
what data is the Commission able to provide?

Does the Commission consider that there is a link between the poor quality of fixed-line telephone

4.
services in Greece and OTE(cid:146)s monopoly position?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2001)

In relation to the first question of the Honourable Member about quality indicators for fixed-line telephone
services identified in the other Member States in 1999 (except for Greece) the Commission has taken the
initiative to collect and publish relevant data in its 5th and 6th Implementation Reports (1). In particular in
the 6th Report, data were published concerning supply time for initial connection, fault rate per access
line, fault repair time (see Annex I which is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament(cid:146)s
Secretariat). The data were submitted by the National Regulatory Authorities of each Member State to the
Commission and they refer to year 1999. The scope of their assessment is limited as a result of the fact
that they are based on slightly different definitions.

In relation to the second question on whether the Commission has more recent data for these particular
indicators in the Member States, the Commission would like to inform the Honourable Member that, as it
is evident in Annex I, Member States have submitted to the Commission only limited data for the first
semester of 2000.

In relation to the question on what other indicators are used to measure the quality of fixed-line telephony
services in the Community and data that the Commission is able to provide, the Commission would like to
refer again to the 6th Implementation Report, Annex 3. There it reports on quality indicators referring to
call set up time, response time for operator services, response time for directory enquiry services,
proportion of coin and card operated public pay-telephones in working order, billing accuracy (see Annex
II which is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat).

In relation to the last question on whether the Commission considers that there is a link between the poor
quality of fixed-line telephone service in Greece and OTE(cid:146)s monopoly position, the Commission would like
to emphasise that one of the main reasons for promoting liberalisation in the telecommunications markets
is that it expects that through the development of competition consumers of telecommunications services
will be at
it seems that substantial
improvements have been seen during the past few years in the provision of fixed-line telephony services in
Greece. In any case, National Regulatory Authorities are expected, when necessary, to set quality standards
for voice telephony services and make sure that operators notified as having significant market power keep

the position to enjoy better quality of services. Nevertheless,

C 364 E/182

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

up to date measurement of the performance obtained in relation to the indicators listed in the Annex III to
Directive 98/10/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 1998 on the application of open
network provision (ONP)
to voice telephony and on universal service for telecommunications in
a competitive environment (2).

(1) COM(1999) 537 final and COM(2000) 814 final.
(2) OJ L 101, 1.4.1998.

(2001/C 364 E/201)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1703/01

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(14 June 2001)

Subject: Taxation on cars

When you buy a bottle of wine in an EU Member State you pay the tax in the country from which it is
purchased. When you buy a car in an EU Member State you pay the tax in the country in which the car is
to be registered and not in the country in which it was originally purchased. Does the Commission not feel
that the purchasing of goods should be treated in the same way?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(30 July 2001)

When a non-taxable person purchases goods, other than those subject to excise duty, in a Member State
and he transports the goods himself to another Member State, for example where he has his permanent
address or usually resides, he pays the VAT of the Member State where he purchases the goods. However,
when the goods concerned are new means of transport, the Council decided in 1992 to adopt a special
scheme whereby a new taxable event was created. This new taxable event, mentioned under
Article 28a(1)(b) of the Sixth VAT Directive, Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the
harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes (cid:129) Common system of value
added tax: uniform basis of assessment (1) is the intracommunity acquisition of new means of transport
affected for consideration within the Member State by taxable persons, non-taxable legal persons or by any
other non-taxable person. This implies that for new means of transport, purchased by a non-taxable
person, the VAT becomes due in the Member State of arrival, which is normally where the new means of
transport is to be registered.

New means of transport are defined under Article 28a(2) of the Sixth VAT Directive.

A car will be considered a new means of transport when:

(cid:129) its capacity exceeds 48 cc or 7,2 kilowatts and it is intended for the transport of persons or goods

and;

(cid:129) it is supplied not more than 6 months after the date of first entry into service or;

(cid:129) it has traveled less than 6 000 kilometers.

When introducing the current VAT arrangements, the Council decided to adopt a specific scheme for the
supplies of new means of transport because the existing divergences in rates applicable in the different
Member States were likely to create severe distortions of competition for the goods concerned. The risk of
a change in commercial flows was estimated to be too important to allow non-taxable persons to purchase
these goods at the VAT rate of the Member State of origin and therefore these derogatory provisions were
inserted for the supplies of new cars.