TELECOMS COUNCIL, LUXEMBOURG, JUNE 2006
Letter from Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP,
Minister of State for Industry and the Regions, Department of
Trade and Industry to the Chairman
I am pleased to enclose a copy of my written
statement to Parliament outlining the agenda items for the forthcoming
Telecoms Council on 8 June which is taking place in Luxembourg.
5 June 2006
Annex A
WRITTEN STATEMENT
I will be representing the UK at the Telecoms
Council in Luxembourg on the afternoon of 8 June 2006. This is
the only Telecoms Council under the Austrian Presidency of the
EU.
The first item on the agenda will focus on EU
eGovernment policy. In response to a recently published Commission
eGovernment Action Plan, the Presidency have prepared a set of
Council Conclusions looking at the priorities that need to considered
in the area of eGovernment policy. I intend to endorse these Council
Conclusions which are compatible with the UK Government's Transformational
Government Strategy.
The Presidency will then introduce a policy
debate on the future challenges for the electronic communications
regulatory framework. This anticipates the Commission's forthcoming
review of the regulatory framework for Electronic Communications
markets. A Communication on this issue is expected in July and
negotiation will formally begin under the German Presidency. I
will highlight some of the specific challenges that the UK would
like to see addressed in the review of the Framework. In particular,
I plan to stress the need for effective implementation of the
existing regulations and the importance of striking the right
balance between maintaining competition, encouraging investment
and protecting consumers.
The Austrian Presidency may also informally
ask for the views of Ministers on the Commission's forthcoming
International Mobile Roaming Regulation. If they do, I will present
the UK's initial views on this dossier, that we support the objective
of reducing charges to consumers but have reservations about the
Commission's approach on the regulation of retail prices.
There will then be a short exchange of views
on network and information security issues. If time allows, I
may intervene under this agenda item to highlight the importance
of discussions on this key issue and the need to consider carefully
the most effective and proportionate way to address security concerns.
Finally, under Any Other Business, the Commission
will provide some information on the first annual report on the
12010 Strategy and on their recently published Communication on
the World Summit on the Information Society. I do not expect to
intervene under either of these items.
Letter from Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP to
the Chairman
I am pleased to enclose a copy of my written
statement to Parliament providing a summary of the Telecoms Council
which took place in Luxembourg on 8 June.
16 June 2006
Annex A
WRITTEN STATEMENT
I represented the United Kingdom at the Telecoms
part of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council on
8 June 2006.
The Council began with a presentation by the
Commission on their recently published Communication—the
"i2010 eGovemment Action Plan"; which was largely based
on a Ministerial Declaration agreed at a Conference in Manchester
during our Presidency. The Action Plan highlights the social and
financial benefits that can be gained through the implementation
of an array of different eGovemment initiatives in helping to
bridge the gap between citizens and administrators.
Ministers were asked to endorse a set of Council
Conclusions responding to the eGovemment Action Plan. These focused
on five major objectives: the need to promote einclusion through
national eGovemment strategies; the importance of user satisfaction
in accessing eGovemment services; Government public procurement
contracts which should be available in electronic format in all
cases; convenient and secure authenticated access to public services
in the EU; and the promotion of public debate and participation
in democratic decision-making. As the substance of the above is
compatible with the UK Government's Transformational Government
Strategy, I leant my support to them.
The Presidency then introduced a policy debate
on the future challenges for the EU's electronic communications
regulatory framework which the Commission are currently reviewing,
with a major Communication expected in July to be followed by
legislative changes in December. In their presentation they highlighted
the need to promote investment and innovation in the telecommunications
sector and to ensure the framework met the needs of an ever evolving
and converging technology and business environment. In my intervention
I stressed the necessity for full implementation of the current
framework by all Member States and the importance of maintaining
the complementary goals of investment, consumer protection and
competition.
On the issue of wireless spectrum, I agreed
with the Commission on the need to make the best use of this finite
resource primarily through market-based management, which will
hopefully create a favourable environment for the introduction
in the market of new information communication technologies.
In the interventions from (nearly all) Member
States there was a wide range of views though with the majority
welcoming the approach of the Commission on both the maintenance
of the regulatory framework, which was thought to be sound, and
on introducing market based mechanisms into spectrum allocation.
There was then a short exchange of views on
the Commission's recent Communication on network and information
security. The Presidency noted the overall problems that exist
with regards to information security and the need to gain the
confidence of citizens and enterprise by assuring them that ICTs
and information systems are able to handle information in an accurate,
confidential and reliable manner. Those Member States that intervened
generally supported the Commission approach.
Due to a shortage of time it was not appropriate
to comment on Commission Communications on the i2010 First Annual
Report and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
both of which were under Any Other Business. On the i2010 Annual
Report the Commission highlighted the need for more work to prevent
the EU falling further behind our main competitors; while on WSIS
the Commission reported on development since the Tunis Conferenceand
looked forward to the first Internet Governance Forum in Greece
in November.
Finally the Austrian Presidency thanked the
UK for the strong foundations that we laid during our Presidency.
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