11 The Telecommunications Single Market
| Committee's assessment
| Legally and politically important |
| Committee's decision | Not cleared from scrutiny; further information requested; drawn to the attention of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee
|
| Document details | (a) Commission Communication on the Telecommunications Single Market
(b) Proposal for a Regulation laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent
|
| Legal base | (a) —;
(b) Article 114 TFEU; ordinary legislative procedure; QMV
|
| Department | Culture, Media and Sport
|
| Document Numbers | (a) (35305), 13562/13, COM(13) 634
(b) (35304), 13555/13 + ADDs 1-2, COM(13) 627
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
11.1 The Commission Communication sets out measures that the Commission
believes are needed to change the existing regulatory framework
(last revised in 2009); the subsequent legislative package, A
Connected Continent: Building a Telecoms Single Market, was
published on 11 September 2013.
11.2 Having made intermittent progress in 2014, the
Latvian Presidency then decided to prioritise this dossier and
focus on the two issues where there was a degree of common ground,
i.e., mobile roaming and net neutrality.[ 136]
Subsequent developments are summarised in the "Background"
section below.
11.3 In his most recent update, just prior to the
dissolution, the Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy
at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport/Business, Innovation
and Skills (Mr Edward Vaizey) was concerned that, were the current
text to come into effect, it would have a negative impact on the
UK child online protection regime with regard to the "default
on" filters for mobile devices and home broadband, and potentially
the filtering of public WiFi services. As such, "this formulation"
was "a clear breach of a UK Red Line and was therefore sufficient
for UK to vote against the text at the recent Coreper meeting".[ 137]
However, the Presidency and the Commission had indicated their
willingness to continue to work with his officials on this section
of the text "to fully mitigate this negative impact in advance
of Trialogue commencing". The Minister therefore intended
to "monitor this situation as it develops over the next month
or so", but noted that "it may be necessary for the
UK to vote negatively again at the appropriate time should the
UK be unsuccessful in its attempt to garner such a change".
11.4 On 8 July, the Council announced that "another
step" had been taken in ending mobile roaming charges, when
Coreper had approved a deal with the European Parliament, which
also included "the first EU-wide rules to safeguard open
internet access, also known as net neutrality".
11.5 In the latest of his full and helpful updates,
the Minister now reports that the main points on mobile roaming
are:
· January
2016-June 2017: "Consumers will continue to pay mobile
roaming charges in the EU at the following rates: 19c/minute for
outgoing-voice calls; 6c/SMS; and 20c/MB for data. These rates
are comparable with the existing caps as set out under the third
Mobile Roaming Regulation and will remain in place until the eventual
cessation of mobile roaming charges. It is entirely possible that
UK consumers may be offered roaming charges below these rates";
· January
2016-June 2017: "the Commission and BEREC[ 138]
will conduct a review of the current pricing regime, and competition
effects driven by same, including the existing level and divergence
of wholesale prices. They will then propose and implement any
necessary changes, in order to ensure that a 'roam like at home'
solution is economically sustainable in the long-term";
· June
2017 onwards: "Consumers will no longer be charged
mobile roaming charges as the 'roam like at home' regime comes
into effect"; and
· Fair-Use
Policies: "in order to manage the risks around arbitrage
— SIMs from member states with low domestic rates being
re-sold in states with high domestic rates and used to roam permanently
— network operators will be able to implement fair-use policies".
11.6 Summing up, the Minister says:
— given
that this outcome is one that that the Government has championed
from the outset, he has no hesitation in supporting it;
— it offers clear tangible benefits to
consumers — through the eventual cessation of mobile roaming
charges and removing the risk of future bill shock whilst roaming
— and provides a concrete example of the benefits that can
be delivered through membership of the EU;
— by conducting a review of the wholesale
pricing regime and ensuing actions, it places the 'roam like at
home' outcome on a sustainable basis for the longer-term and will
help further integrate the telecoms single market and provide
further momentum towards the creation of the digital single market;
and
— the outcome has "drawn support from
the Prime Minister and meets his ambition of seeing the end of
mobile roaming charges in the EU".
11.7 With regard to net neutrality, the Minister
says that:
— overall,
the text agreed is principles-based and service and technology-neutral,
will ensure an open internet across Europe where all legal traffic
is treated equally and end the unfair blocking of rival services;
— it thus fully meets the wider criteria
in the Government's negotiating position;
— with regard to the impact on the UK domestic
regime, the work of the Internet Watch Foundation and the current
voluntary parental control filters regime can continue without
further intervention, by implementing the necessary legislation
in the UK;
— his Department is now taking this forward,
on the basis of a December 2016 deadline for implementation that
provides "ample time" to complete this process;
— bearing in mind how it evolved from Commission
and European Parliament proposals that were largely unpalatable
for the UK, this outcome is "largely positive overall"
and "well within a range of outcomes that would have been
acceptable to HMG"; and
— he can therefore, on balance, support
it.
11.8 Like our predecessors, we commend the Minister
for the open and transparent way in which he continues to facilitate
proper parliamentary scrutiny of this important dossier, and agree
with our predecessors that it should be given wider currency in
Whitehall as an example of "best practice".
11.9 It seems to us that the outcome is as the
Minister describes it. But we are not the technical experts; hence
we again draw these developments to the attention of the Culture,
Media and Sport Committee in case there are other considerations
that we have overlooked.
11.10 We now await the final, revised text and
a fresh Explanatory Memorandum, in good time prior to the Council
meeting at which it is eventually scheduled for adoption.
11.11 In the meantime, we shall continue to retain
the documents under scrutiny.
Full
details of the documents:
(a) Commission Communication to the European
Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee
and the Committee of the Regions on the Telecommunications
Single Market: (35305), 13562/13, COM(13) 634; (b)
Draft Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
laying down measures concerning the European single market for
electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent,
and amending Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC
and Regulations (EC) No. 1211/2009 and (EU) No. 531/2012: (35304),
13555/13 + ADDs 1-2, COM(13) 627.
Background
11.12 On 12 September 2013 the Commission published
a legislative package for a Connected Continent: Building
a Telecoms Single Market, which it says is aimed at building
a connected, competitive continent and enabling sustainable digital
jobs and industries; with proposed legislative changes to several
regulations that (the Commission said) would "make a reality
of two key EU Treaty Principles: the freedom to provide and to
consume (digital) services wherever one is in the EU".
11.13 The full background to the Commission Communication
and this draft Regulation is set out in the first of our previous
Reports; likewise the very detailed and helpful analysis of both
documents by the Minister in his Explanatory Memorandum of 10
October 2013.[ 139]
11.14 Our predecessors' subsequent Reports embody
a number of series of full and very helpful updates ever since
this package was first deposited.[ 140]
They include, in September 2014, the Opinion of the Culture, Media
and Sport (CMS) Committee, along with Ofcom's submission to that
Committee. The CMS Committee deemed it clear from Ofcom's submission
that at least some of the proposals lacked sufficient grounding
in terms of evidence, analysis and consultation, and that much
work remained to be done to achieve outcomes that were proportionate
and struck an appropriate balance between national and wider European
interests.[ 141]
11.15 On 4 March 2015, the Council issued the following
press release:
"The Latvian presidency of the Council now has
a mandate to start negotiations with the European Parliament
on new rules to cut mobile phone roaming fees and safeguard
open internet access. The mandate was agreed by member states
at the Permanent Representatives Committee on 4 March 2015.
"COUNCIL'S NEGOTIATING STANCE
"The mandate to negotiate the new regulation
covers
· "EU-wide
rules on open internet, safeguarding end-users' rights and ensuring
non-discriminatory treatment in the provision of internet access
services
· "changes
to the current roaming regulation (known as Roaming III), representing
an intermediate step towards phasing out roaming fees.
"The other parts of the original Commission
proposal on the telecommunications single market ("Connected
Continent") have been left out by common decision of the
Council.
"The regulation would apply from 30 June 2016.
"ROAMING REFORM
"The Council stance sets up a new pricing mechanism,
which will make it much cheaper to use your mobile phone when
travelling abroad in the EU. Within certain limits to be determined,
consumers could make and receive calls, send SMSs and use data
services without paying anything extra on top of the domestic
fee. Once this basic roaming allowance is used up, the
operator may charge a fee, but this fee will be much lower than
current charges. In the case of calls made, SMSs sent and data
used, the roaming fee could not in any case be higher than the
maximum wholesale rate that operators pay for using the
networks of other member states. For calls received, the maximum
surcharge will be the weighted average of maximum mobile termination
rates across the EU.
"As the next step, the Commission will
be asked to assess by mid-2018 what further measures may be needed
with a view to phasing out roaming charges. If so, the
Commission will propose new laws to address the situation.
· "Roaming
III regulation
"PROTECTING OPEN INTERNET
"The draft regulation is to enshrine the principle
of end-users' right to access and distribute content of their
choice on the internet. It also sets out to ensure that companies
that provide internet access treat traffic in a non-discriminatory
manner.
"It sets common rules on traffic management,
so that the internet can continue to function, grow and innovate
without becoming congested. Blocking or slowing down specific
content or applications will be prohibited, with only a limited
number of exceptions and only for as long as it is necessary.
For instance, customers may request their operator to block spam.
Blocking could also be necessary to prevent cyber-attacks through
rapidly spreading malware.
"As regards services other than those providing
internet access, agreements on services requiring a specific level
of quality will be allowed, but operators will have to ensure
the quality of internet access services.
"National regulatory authorities will play a
key role in ensuring that telecom companies and operators respect
the rules on open internet. For this, they will receive guidance
from the Body of European Regulators BEREC.
"HOW WILL THIS BECOME A LAW?
"The presidency will negotiate the terms of
the regulation with the European Parliament on behalf of the Council.
In order to be adopted, the legal act must be approved by both
institutions. The Parliament adopted its position (first-reading
amendments) in April 2014."[ 142]
MOBILE ROAMING
11.16 In his last update, the Minister said that
the text on roaming had been largely stable since his previous
one; the main components being the introduction of a roaming allowance
— the size of which remained unspecified and would be subject
to development during Trialogue — and a commitment to review
the current wholesale price and take action if found necessary.
He described the matter of wholesale pricing as having played
a pivotal role in preventing a full "roam like at home"
solution being adopted in the short-term but said that "this
commitment retains the potential for the adoption of such an action
in the longer term". Here and now, his intention was to focus
future efforts on "ensuring that that any allowance results
in a meaningful and tangible benefit to consumers, whilst striving
to ensure this is balanced against revenue impacts for operators".
The proposal also envisaged a further reduction in retail data
roaming charges, and a modification of the current "SMS
alert" mechanisms for consumers when "roaming".
NET NEUTRALITY
11.17 The current text remained "principles-based"
and "technology and service neutral", and retained sufficient
flexibility for future innovation with regard to emerging and
new digital services. However, were the current text to come into
effect, it would have a negative impact on the current child online
protection regime in operation within the UK, namely the matter
of "default on" filters for mobile devices and home
broadband, and potentially the filtering of public WiFi services.
As such, "this formulation is a clear breach of a UK Red
Line and was therefore sufficient for UK to vote against the text
at the recent Coreper meeting". Both the Presidency and the
Commission had indicated their willingness to continue to work
with his officials on this section of the text "to fully
mitigate this negative impact in advance of Trialogue commencing".
The Minister therefore intended to "monitor this situation
as it develops over the next month or so", but noted that
"it may be necessary for the UK to vote negatively again
at the appropriate time should UK be unsuccessful in its attempt
to garner such a change" (see our predecessor's most recent
Report for details[ 143]).
11.18 Given these uncertainties, the current timetable
and the imminent dissolution, the Minister recognised that the
final formulation of the text would not be known until after the
last meeting of the previous Committee, prior to the dissolution
of Parliament in view of the 7 May 2015 general election. Therefore,
he said:
"the existing scrutiny reserve will necessarily
remain in place as negotiations reach their conclusion and the
point of decision on accepting that outcome, or otherwise, is
reached. As such, it is my intention to write again upon conclusion,
noting the final outcome and setting down any relevant points."
The previous Committee's assessment
11.19 The previous Committee again thanked the Minister
for the open and cooperative fashion in which he and his officials
had approached the handling of this difficult dossier, which they
regarded as worthy of wider study by the Cabinet Office and scrutiny
teams across Whitehall.
11.20 The previous Committee hoped that, by early
summer, there would be not only a new Government but also a new
Committee; but also recognised that, in the post-election period,
the Minister might well be unable to submit the final text to
the next Committee for scrutiny prior to a formal vote in Council.
But even so, they recognised that the new Committee would be nonetheless
interested in the final outcome, and therefore made it clear that
it expected the Minister, or his successor, to deposit any final
text along with a fresh Explanatory Memorandum, outlining its
provisions in detail, and explaining why he (or she) voted as
he (or she) did at the end of the day.
11.21 In the meantime, the documents were retained
under scrutiny.
11.22 These developments were also again drawn to
the attention of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.[ 144]
11.23 On 8 July 2015, the Council issued a press
statement that began thus:
"Another step in ending mobile roaming charges
was taken on 8 July 2015, when member states at the Permanent
Representatives Committee approved the deal with the European
Parliament. The new law will also include the first EU-wide
rules to safeguard open internet access, also known as net
neutrality".
11.24 The main points are:
MOBILE ROAMING
· Roaming
fees will come down on 30 April 2016. The maximum surcharge will
then be €0.05 per minute for calls, €0.02 for texts
and €0.05 per megabyte for data. These amounts correspond
to the current maximum wholesale rates. For calls received, the
maximum surcharge will be the weighted average of maximum mobile
termination rates across the EU, to be set out by the Commission
by the end of 2015.
· Roaming
surcharges will be abolished as of 15 June 2017. However, roaming
providers will be able to apply a 'fair use policy' to prevent
abusive use of roaming.
· The
Commission will be mandated to review the wholesale roaming market
and propose a new law by 15 June 2016.
PROTECTING OPEN INTERNET
· For
the first time, an EU law will stipulate that operators will have
to treat all traffic equally when providing internet access services.
The text also enshrines the principle of users' right to access
and distribute content of their choice on the internet.
· Operators
may use reasonable traffic management measures to keep the internet
running. Such measures are to be based on objective technical
requirements, not on commercial considerations. Blocking or throttling
will be allowed only in a limited number of circumstances, for
instance to counter a cyber-attack or deal with exceptional or
temporary traffic congestion. Agreements on services optimised
for specific content (e.g., tele-surgery) will be allowed where
optimisation is necessary, but operators will have to ensure the
general quality of internet access services. The open internet
rules will be applicable from 30 April 2016, which is the overall
date of application of the new regulation.
HOW WILL THIS BECOME A LAW?
· The
agreed text will undergo technical finalisation. It then needs
to be formally approved by the Council and the Parliament. The
Council is expected to formally adopt it in the autumn 2015. This
does not need to take place in the Telecom Council: any Council
configuration has the power to adopt the legal act.
· The
regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication
in the EU Official Journal. [ 145]
The Minister's letter of 9 July 2015
11.25 The Minister says that, although the formal
negotiations suffered some slippage, a formal agreement was reached
as part of the trialogue process at the end of June. His letter
provides: a "brief summary of the negotiating processes that
took place since my last letter"; an "analysis of the
agreed text and any impacts"; and a "timetable for the
final formal stages before the Regulation comes into force".
OUTLINE OF NEGOTIATIONS (MARCH-JUNE 2015)
"You may recall from my last letter, I set out
a timetable that foresaw the continuation of the trialogue process
after the Easter break and agreement at some point thereafter.
Whilst this came to pass, it is fair to observe that the timetable
suffered some severe slippage, as the Presidency struggled to
consolidate a text that met the conflicting and substantive demands
within Council, as well as between Council and the European Parliament.
It was clear that there were some fundamental disagreements over
the preferred outcomes covering both the roaming and net neutrality
provisions in the Regulation.
"This continued lack of agreement drove the
Presidency to organise an informal ministerial breakfast on the
morning of Telecoms Council that took place on 12th June. Whilst
the discussion enabled ministers to set out their positions -
my intervention called for an early agreement, as well as supporting
an end to roaming charges as quickly as possible — it failed
to break the deadlock within Council. As a result, it was beginning
to look increasingly likely that no agreement would be reached
and the package would formally pass to a Second Reading stage
for agreement after the Summer.
"Further technical meetings between the Presidency
and EP took place, before the formulation of a text that was put
forward in the second half of June. This text quickly gained traction
in both Council and the EP and a point of political agreement
was reached at the trialogue meeting that took place on 29th June.
"I now turn to an analysis of that text, noting
the major outcomes for each element and how they meet HMG's negotiating
position.
MOBILE ROAMING
"In my last letter, the then roaming element
of the Regulation had the main actions of:
· "the
introduction of a roaming allowance with reduced roaming charges
once the allowance was exceeded (as an interim measure whilst
the wholesale review took place);
· "a
commitment to review, and take action as necessary, of the wholesale
pricing regime;
· "an
extension of the existing consumer protection regime (SMS alerts)
to cover the use of the allowance and charges thereafter; and
· "an
eventual cessation of mobile roaming charges in the EU through
the introduction of a 'roam like at home' solution once the wholesale
price review was completed and any actions implemented.
"It very much remained the case that both the
level of the roaming allowance and the dates associated with the
wholesale review and, thus, eventual cessation of mobile roaming
charges were the points around which reaching agreement proved
difficult within Council (many Member States favouring a cautious
approach of lower allowances and later dates), and between Council
and the EP (the latter preferring larger allowances and an early
end to roaming).
"As negotiations commenced, it became clear
that an early end to roaming charges began to garner majority
support within Council and was seen as a tactical concession in
order to manage the EP's expectations with regard to net neutrality.
"As part of this discussion, some Member States
began to cast doubt on the necessity and desirability of the roaming
allowance; i.e., it would be in place for around 18 months and
would drive network operators to change billing regimes twice
in this period (as well as bear costs associated with providing
an allowance without addressing the wholesale pricing regime).
The Presidency therefore proposed that the allowance be dropped
and an early end-date of roaming be adopted. This approach quickly
gained majority support within Council and, as such, was agreed
with the EP during the last trialogue session.
"Thus, the final outcome is text that sets out
a clear timetable for the eventual cessation of mobile roaming
charges, and confirms actions that required to be taken in order
to achieve same.
"In summary, the main points are:
· "Jan
'16 to June '17: Consumers will continue to pay mobile roaming
charges in the EU at the following rates: 19c/minute for outgoing-voice
calls; 6c/SMS; and 20c/MB for data. These rates are comparable
with the existing caps as set out under the third Mobile Roaming
Regulation and will remain in place until the eventual cessation
of mobile roaming charges. It is entirely possible that UK consumers
may be offered roaming charges below these rates;
· "Jan
'16 to June '17: the Commission and BEREC will conduct a review
of the current pricing regime, and competition effects driven
by same, including the existing level and divergence of wholesale
prices. They will then propose and implement any necessary changes,
in order to ensure that a 'roam like at home' solution is economically
sustainable in the long-term;
· "June
'17 onwards: Consumers will no longer be charged mobile roaming
charges as the 'roam like at home' regime comes into effect; and
· "Fair-Use
Policies: in order to manage the risks around arbitrage -
SIMs from member states with low domestic rates being re-sold
in states with high domestic rates and used to roam permanently
- network operators will be able to implement fair-use policies.
"Given that this outcome is one that HMG has
championed from the beginning of negotiations (albeit via a slight
detour through the introduction of the interim roaming allowance),
I have no hesitation in supporting this result."
11.26 In conclusion, the Minister says:
"In my view, it not only offers clear tangible
benefits to consumers — through the eventual cessation of
mobile roaming charges and removing the risk of future bill shock
whilst roaming — it also provides a concrete example of
the benefits that can be delivered through membership of the EU.
Further, by conducting a review of the wholesale pricing regime
and ensuing actions, it places the 'roam like at home' outcome
on a sustainable basis for the longer-term and will help further
integrate the telecoms single market. It is anticipated that consumers
will further engage with digital goods and services whilst roaming,
providing further momentum towards the creation of the digital
single market; a real benefit to businesses providing same.
"Finally, this outcome is one that has drawn
support from the Prime Minister and meets his ambition of seeing
the end of mobile roaming charges in the EU.
NET NEUTRALITY
"Overall, the text agreed is principles-based
and is service & technology neutral. It will ensure an open
internet across Europe where all legal traffic is treated equally
and bring to an end the unfair blocking of rival services we have
seen in some instances in the past.
"In terms of traffic management, it requires
that any traffic management undertaken by operators is transparent.
It also provides further clarification on what powers are conferred
to national regulatory authorities — Ofcom in the UK's instance
— and what action they can take when they believe the requirements
of the Regulation are being breached. As such, the text fully
meets the wider criteria that set down HMG's negotiating position.
"However, you may recall from my previous correspondence
that HMG was pursuing a specific exemption within the Regulation
to avoid the UK having to place its current child online protection
regime (both the voluntary parental control filters and the work
of the Internet Watch Foundation to combat illegal child sex abuse
imagery) on a legislative footing. Despite some opposition within
Council to this UK-specific exemption, such a text formulation
was retained in the text moving forward until the final trialogue
meeting. It was leading up to this meeting whereby the EP indicated
that they could not accept such an outcome and would seek its
removal from the text during the upcoming plenary session.
"As such, the Presidency were forced into a
difficult position: to either drop the text or continue to support
its inclusion on behalf of the UK and risk both alienating the
EP and it being eventually removed at a later stage. In order
to ensure an overall deal was reached, largely to protect the
position on roaming, and offer a concession to the EP to avoid
them focussing on other, more sensitive, issues around the net
neutrality text, the Presidency opted for the former.
"Whilst it is fair to say that this impact on
the UK domestic regime is not perfect in terms of outcomes, it
certainly does not stop UK from continuing to operate its existing
regime. We have ensured that the work of the Internet Watch Foundation
can continue without further intervention, and have ensured the
current voluntary parental control filters regime can also continue
by implementing the necessary legislation in the UK, which my
Department is now taking forward. HMG was successful in gaining
an implementation period to ensure that UK is able to become compliant
with the new requirements; that deadline is December 2016, giving
us ample time to complete this process.
"Therefore, on balance, and bearing in mind
how the outcome on net neutrality evolved from the original Commission
and EP proposals which were largely unpalatable for the UK, I
judge this outcome to be largely positive overall and is well
within a range of outcomes that would have been acceptable to
HMG. As such, I can also support the outcome for this element.
"In summary, I note that the text that was agreed
at the final trialogue contains a positive outcome with regard
to UK's ambition on an eventual cessation to mobile roaming charges
in the EU and that UK has been largely successful in shaping the
resulting regulatory requirements cover matters relating to net
neutrality. It also manifests a much simplified Regulation; another
key UK negotiating objective.
"Thus, on balance, I am content to support the
overall outcome.
NEXT STAGES AND ADOPTION
"With agreement finally gained in the dying
embers of the Latvian Presidency, the formal process of adoption
will now fall to the incoming Presidency of Luxembourg.
"As such, the final text was approved at a meeting
of Coreper on Wednesday 8th July and will now pass through the
jurist-linguist process for legal review and translation into
the official languages of the EU. The Regulation will then be
put to an upcoming Council, and a full plenary of the EP for adoption;
the specific Council and date of the EP Plenary have yet to be
confirmed. The Regulation will come into force after publication
on the Official Journal of the European Union. It is anticipated
that the net neutrality provisions will come into force on April
2016; the stages for roaming are noted above.
"Given the above analysis of the outcomes, that
shows that the Regulation has largely meets HMG's negotiating
position, it is my intention that UK votes to accept the Regulation."
Previous Committee Reports
Thirty-seventh Report HC 219-xxxvi (2104-15),
chapter 9 (18 March 2015); Thirty-fourth Report HC 219-xxxiii
(2104-15), chapter 2 (25 February 2015), Thirtieth Report HC 219-xxix
(2104-15), chapter 3 (21 January 2015), Twenty-seventh Report
HC 219-xxvi (2014-15), chapter 3 (17 December 2014), Twentieth
Report HC 219-xix (2014-15), chapter 1 (19 November 2014), Thirteenth
Report HC 219-xiii (2014-15), chapter 11 (15 October 2014), Ninth
Report HC 219-ix (2014-15), chapter 9 (3 September 2014), Eighth
Report HC 219-viii (2014-15), chapter 5 (16 July 2014), First
Report HC 219-i (2014-15), chapter 5 (4 June 2014), Thirty-fourth
Report HC 83-xxxi (2013-14), chapter 2 (5 February 2014), Twenty-eighth
Report HC 83-xxv (2013-14), chapter 4 (18 December 2013) and Eighteenth
Report HC 83-xvii (2013-14), chapter 2 (16 October 2013).
136 See Thirty-seventh Report HC 219-xxxv (2014-15)
chapter 9 (18 March 2015). Back
137 See Thirty-seventh Report HC 219-xxxv (2014-15) chapter 9 (18
March 2015). Back
138 See Thirty-seventh Report HC 219-xxxv (2014-15) chapter 9 (18
March 2015). Back
139 Eighteenth Report HC 83-xvii (2013-14), chapter 2 (16 October
2013). Back
140 List of previous Reports at the end of this Chapter. Back
141 Twenty-seventh Report HC 219-xxvi (2014-15), chapter 3 (17 December
2014) and Ninth Report HC 219-ix (2014-15), chapter 9 (3 September
2014). Back
142 Press Release. Back
143 See Thirty-seventh Report HC 219-xxxvi (2104-15), chapter
9 (18 March 2015). Back
144 Ibid. Back
145 See Press Release for full details and the text of the amended
draft Council Regulation. Back
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