CELEX: 51996PC0467
Language: en
Date: 1996-10-14
Title: Amended proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DECISION on a common framework fot the harmonised development of satellite personal communications services in the European Union

Avis juridique important

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51996PC0467

Amended proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DECISION on a common framework fot the harmonised development of satellite personal communications services in the European Union  /* COM/96/0467 FINAL - COD 95/0274 */  

Official Journal C 350 , 21/11/1996 P. 0014

Amended  proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on a common framework for the harmonized  development of satellite personal communications services in the European Union  (1) (96/C  350/10)  (Text with EEA relevance) COM(96) 467 final - 95/0274(COD)(Submitted by the Commission  pursuant to Article 189a (2) of the EC Treaty on 14 October 1996) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community and in particular Articles 57, 66  and 100a, Having regard to the proposal of the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions, 1. Whereas on 7 December 1993 the Council adopted a Resolution on the introduction of satellite  personal communications services in the Community  (2), whereas in that Resolution the Council  stressed the importance of coordinated action required to allow the introduction of satellite  personal communications services in the Community, taking full account of the global nature of  these services; whereas the Council underlined the need for the development of an effective policy  and asked the Commission to study the matter, monitor international developments and propose  appropriate measures and/or actions; Whereas on 19 May 1995, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on Mobile and Personal  communications in the European Union  (3) in which it considers as a priority objective to  establish, before 1 January 1996, a harmonized authorization approach for satellite based mobile  and personal communications and, on that basis, the implementation of procedures for the provision  of licences of those systems at an early stage; whereas this approach must be implemented early  enough in order to take account of the rapid development of these services at a global level and  their social and commercial potential; Whereas on 29 June 1995 the Council adopted a Resolution on the further development of mobile and  personal communications in the European Union  (4) in which it considers as a priority objective to  ensure the sufficiently early definition of a harmonized authorization approach for satellite based  mobile and personal communications, after study by the European Committee for Telecommunications  Regulatory Affairs (Ectra); Whereas satellite personal communications systems have a role to play in assuring the delivery of  universal service to remote parts of the European Community, thereby strengthening social and  economic cohesion; 2. Whereas, having considered the telecommunications, trade and industry aspects as well as the  frequency and standardization aspects of satellite personal communications, and after consultation  of the relevant industry, the Commission has submitted proposals for decision-making and the  related time schedule with the aim to come to selection and authorization of satellite personal  communications services on the basis of a common approach; 3. Whereas, market entry for satellite PCS space segment operators can only be restricted on the  basis of objective, transparent, proportionate and non-discriminatory selection criteria relating  to the availability of scarce resources, and award procedures shall be objective, transparent and  non-discriminatory; whereas within the limited common spectrum a harmonized selection is required  at a European Community level; whereas the common conditions for authorizations for satellite PCS  services shall be based on the principles of objectivity, transparency, non-discrimination, and  proportionality; 4. Whereas, since satellite personal communication by nature addresses foremost the needs of mobile  users travelling between Member States but especially outside the European Community, diverging  national legislations, regulations, and administrative measures would hinder or even prevent the  provision of European Community-wide satellite personal communications services, the free movement  of related equipment and, as a consequence, the successful introduction of satellite PCS on the  internal market; 5. Whereas the free provision of satellite personal communications services and the free movement  of related equipment on the internal market can only be achieved if an approximation of national  regulations and administrative measures is achieved on the basis of harmonized conditions for  authorizations for providers of services and gateway operators and, if required, for equipment; 6. Whereas the European Parliament and the Council are examining measures on authorizations and  individual licences in the field of telecommunications in the European Community; whereas, given  the urgency of the matter and in the absence of adoption and implementation of such European  Community authorization measures, the area of satellite personal communications services therefore  requires an action at a European Community level, as specified in this Decision; whereas the action  shall be urgent but of limited duration; 7. Whereas, given the foreseen implementation time-schedule for satellite personal communications  systems, the action aims to ensure that, within its limited duration, appropriate regulatory and  policy measures are taken in the European Community on the selection and authorization of satellite  personal communications, taking due account of the international dimension and its ensuing  requirements; 8. Whereas, in view of limited availability of the frequency resources, categories of satellite  personal communications services shall be determined for which a comparative bidding process is  required to come to a selection of satellite systems; whereas a single European Community-level  selection process shall avoid incompatible national decisions on the selection of satellite  systems; whereas the procedures by means of which the comparative bidding process will be  undertaken will have to be determined in detail; 9. Whereas potential applicants shall be informed of the procedure of the comparative bidding  process, and of the criteria which have been determined for selection, and of the principles which  will be used for the establishment of the common conditions to be attached to authorization for  satellite PCS space segment operators; 10. Whereas the determination of common conditions for selected space segment operators, and of  harmonized conditions for authorizations for providers of services, gateway operators and, if  required, circulation and use of equipment will permit Member States to provide authorizations  under applicable national regimes in accordance with the provisions of Directive 94/46/EC, and  thereby avoiding uncoordinated and incompatible national regulatory decisions; 11. Whereas measures adopted by the European Radiocommunications Committee (ERC) and the European  Committee for Telecommunications Regulatory Affairs (Ectra), if consistent with the European  Community's interested, may be a basis for the use of the relevant frequencies by, and for the  elaboration of the authorization criteria of, satellite personal communications services; Whereas the European standardization bodies such as the European Telecommunications Standards  Institute (ETSI) and Cen/Cenelec may be engaged in a timely fashion to elaborate the necessary  standards which are relevant in this area; 12. Whereas the global dimension of satellite personal communications systems and services, as well  as the related global regulatory structure under which they are provided play an important role in  the considerations of the European Community; wheres this action at a European Community level  shall permit the European Community and its Member States to exert greater influence on the  world-wide development of mobile and personal communications; Whereas the inherent global nature of satellite personal communications services may require the  adoption of a substantial number of agreements with third countries on, inter alia,  interconnection, free circulation and use of equipment, satellite system and satellite control  centres operations, frequency band usage and sharing plans, numbering, safety and distress  operations, access to gateway stations and access to third markets; whereas these agreements are  closely related to market access arrangements; whereas therefore the Commission may start  multilateral and/or bilateral negotiations on these aspects of satellite personal communications; 13. Whereas the results of international discussions and/or other warranted changes of  circumstances may require that decisions taken under this action be amended or other appropriate  action be undertaken by the Commission in close cooperation with the Member States; 14. Whereas Member States shall take all appropriate action to implement this action and its  resulting decisions in a timely fashion and communicate national implementation measures to the  Commission; 15. Whereas the relevant industry should be requested to cooperate closely with the Commission and  the national regulatory authorities in order to achieve solutions for issues raised during the  selection and authorization of satellite personal communications services; whereas this cooperation  may be extended to address the issues in an international context; Whereas the Commission may wish to seek assistance from an ad hoc panel of experts in the  elaboration of the detailed work required under the tasks assigned to it by this Decision; whereas  the ad hoc panel of experts should be made up, in as far as available, of relevant experts from  industry augmented, as necessary, by experts from national ministries, representatives of relevant  bodies such as, inter alia, ETSI, Ectra, ERC, and other relevant governmental bodies; Whereas the nature of the information provided by applicants and other relevant industry may be of  a commercially-in-confidence nature; whereas the utmost discretion shall be undertaken in respect  of this information; whereas however this shall not prevent publication of information relevant for  a selection and authorization process; HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 The establishment of an action at a European Community level The purpose of this Decision is to promote the harmonized introduction of satellite personal  communications services in the European Community by means of coordinated action at a European  Community level between the national regulatory authorities for telecommunications. This action is limited to a period of three years from the date of publication of this Decision in  the Official Journal of the European Communities. The Commission shall keep developments in the  satellite personal communications area under review, report on the effectiveness of action taken  under this Decision after two years and, if required, propose a prolongation or extension of action  in this area to the European Parliament and the Council. Article 2 Objectives The objectives of action in satellite personal communications shall be to ensure, within the period  set out in Article 1: (i) the selection of satellite PCS space segment operators; (ii) the adoption of common conditions to be attached to national authorizations for satellite PCS  space segment operators; (iii) harmonization of conditions for authorizations, established in accordance with the provisions  of Directive 94/46/EC, and Directive .  .  ./.  .  ./EC on a common framework for general  authorisations and individual licenses in the field or telecommunications services, for providers  of S-PCS services and gateway operators, and, if required, appropriate measures for equipment  circulation and use; (iv) the establishment of a dialogue and, where appropriate, negotiations between the European  Community and third countries with the aim of establishing international cooperation in order to  allocate access to space segment in the light of the interests of all the countries concerned,  promote the development of satellite personal communications services and remove the obstacles to  their development. Article 3 Definitions For the purposes of this decision: - authorization of a space segment operator: the permission allowing an undertaking to establish  and operate space segment capacity for the provision of S-PCS services and to be granted the right  to use the relevant frequency spectrum under specified conditions, - provider of S-PCS services: any undertaking providing satellite communications services as  defined in Directive 94/46/EC and making use of space segment capacity provided by the selected  space segment operators; this does not cover resellers of authorized services, - gateway operator: any undertaking providing satellite network services as defined in Directive  94/46/EC and making use of the space segment capacity provided by the selected space segment  operators. Article 4 Establishment of selection process for space segment operators The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the national regulatory authorities of the Member  States in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 7: (i) establish categories of satellite personal communications services, and determine, where  appropriate, the need for selection of satellite personal communications space segment operators; (ii) adopt, for the relevant categories, criteria for the common selection of satellite personal  communications space segment operators to be authorized to provide their services in the European  Community; (iii) adopt the procedures by which a comparative bidding process may be undertaken; (iv) adopt, for all categories of services, principles for the common conditions to be attached to  authorizations for selected satellite personal communications space segment operators; Article 5 Selection of space segment operators 1.  A call for declaration of interest shall be published in the Official Journal of the European  Communities within six months after adoption of this Decision. (i) The call for declaration of interest shall set out the criteria for the common selection for  each category of service established pursuant to Article 4 (ii), the procedures to be followed in  the selection established pursuant to Article 4 (iii) and the principles of the common conditions  to be attached to authorizations established pursuant to Article 4 (iv). (ii) The call for declaration of interest shall invite declarations from any person or entity  wishing to operate a system for the purpose of providing satellite personal communications services  in the European Community. 2.  A Decision selecting satellite personal communications space segment operators for the relevant  categories of services shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 9. Article 6 Adoption of common and harmonized conditions for authorizations The issuing of authorizations to space segment operators, gateway operators and providers of S-PCS  services shall be governed by the provisions of the European Parliament and Council Directive on a  common framework for general authorizations and individual licences in the field of  telecommunications services. Without prejudice to the provisions of the above Directive, and in  particular of Annex I thereof, the following shall be adopted by a Decision in accordance with the  procedure laid down in Article 8: (i) common conditions to be attached to the authorizations of the selected satellite personal  communications space segment operators; (ii) harmonized conditions for the authorization of providers of satellite personal communications  services, gateway operators, and, if required, for the circulation and use of equipment; (iii) any other measures aimed at facilitating the development of satellite personal communications  services. In view of the adoption of common and harmonized authorization conditions, the Commission may  decide, where it deems appropriate, to consult representatives of selected space segment  operators. Article 7 Cooperation with CEPT and European standardization bodies In order to assist the adoption of common and harmonized criteria and conditions and with due  regard to the time schedule established in Annex, the Commission may ask the European  standardization bodies such as the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and  Cen/Cenelec, as well as the European Radio Committee (ERC), and the European Committee for  Telecommunications Regulatory Affairs (Ectra), via work requirements under the relevant existing  framework agreements with those organizations, to study the necessary technical criteria and  conditions. Article 8 The Advisory Committee 1.  The Commission shall be assisted in the implementation of this Decision by by the European  Union Telecommunications Committee set up by the European Parliament and Council Directive on a  common framework for general authorizations and individual licenses in the field of  telecommunications services. 2.  The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to  be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit to be determined  by the Chairman according to the urgency of the matter and, where necessary, by taking a vote. The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes. Furthermore, each Member State shall have the right  to request that its position be included in the minutes. The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the Committee and shall  inform the Committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account. Article 9 The Regulatory Committee 1.  By way of exception to the provisions of Article 8, the following procedure shall apply in  respect of the matters covered by Article 5 (2). 2.  The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to  be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the  chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the  majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is  required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member  States within the committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman  shall not vote. 3.  The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion of  the committee. 4.  If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the committee, or if no  opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a proposal  relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority. If, on the expiry of a period of three months from the date of referral to the Council, the Council  has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission. Article 10 International aspects 1.  The Council shall, by 31 December 1996, draw up a common position on the allocation of the  frequencies necessary for the operation of S-PCS and, should this prove a desirable step towards  the establishment of a critical mass, shall give the Commission a mandate to negotiate within the  relevant international bodies, particularly the International Telecommunications Union, and where  appropriate, with relevant third countries with a view to establishing the conditions of access to  space segment and the obligations to be attached to authorizations for space segment operators. 2.  The Member States shall inform the Commission of any difficulties encountered, de jure or de  facto, by Community organizations in the introduction of satellite personal communications in third  countries; 3.  Whenever the Commission establishes that the action undertaken under this Decision, in  particular with regard to the information received further to paragraphs 1 and 2, may require  negotiations with the aim of facilitating the introduction of satellite personal communications in  the European Community and remove obstacles thereto, the Commission may request the granting or  extension of a mandate to start, where appropriate, negotiations in view of these aims. The principle of Community action will be aimed at ensuring effective and comparable access for  Community organisations to the markets in these third countries and at facilitating the  interoperability of the various personal mobile communications systems, particularly by means of  the transmission standards which already render such systems interoperable within the European  Community. 4.  Measures taken pursuant to this Article shall be without prejudice to the Community's and  Member States' obligations under relevant international agreements. Article 11 Amendment of decisions In order to take into account the results of discussions in international fora and/or with third  countries or as a result of measures taken in accordance with the provisions of Article 10, as well  as any warranted change of circumstances, the Commission shall adopt, in close cooperation with the  national regulatory authorities of the Member States in accordance with the procedure laid down in  Article 8, all appropriate measures as deemed necessary, including amending its decisions. Article 12 Implementation 1.  Member States shall take all necessary measures by law or administrative action to enable  implementation of the measures agreed in or pursuant to this Decision; 2.  Member States shall supply the Commission, not later than six months after adoption of this  Decision with such information as may be required by the Commission to verify the implementation of  this Decision. 3.  Member States shall supply the Commission, not later than three months after adoption of the  decisions taken pursuant to this Decision and in accordance with the time schedule in Annex, with  such information which will allow the Commission to verify the compliance with such decisions. Article 13 Confidentiality 1.  Without prejudice to the provisions of this Decision, the Commission and the national  regulatory authorities, their officials and other servants, and experts consulted shall not  disclose any information acquired by them as a result of the implementation of this Decision and of  the kind covered by the obligation of professional secrecy. 2.  The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not prevent publication of information on selection  criteria and authorization conditions which does not include information of a confidential nature. Article 14 This Decision is addressed to the Member States. (1) OJ No C 15, 20. 1. 1996, p. 6.  (2) OJ No C 339, 16. 12. 1993, p. 1.  (3) Not yet published in to Official Journal.  (4) OJ No C 188, 22. 7. 1995, p. 3.   ANNEX >TABLE>