Europe - EC veto over NRA decisions

Reding Seeks to Retain Veto Over National Telecoms Regulators

Viviane Reding, the European Union (EU)'s Information Society Commissioner, has criticised moves by the European Parliament's Industry Committee to water down proposals which would give the European Commission a veto over decisions on boosting competition made by national telecoms regulators. The Industry Committee has suggested that the European Commission would require the backing from the Body of European Regulators in Telecoms (BERT), before vetoing a decision by national telecoms regulators. Reding believes that such a dilution of her proposals would effectively allow national regulators to ignore the guidance of the European Commission.

Significance: The watering down of the proposals is widely supported by national governments, although it could be reinstated before the first full vote on a package of reforms later this month. The package, which currently paves the way for functional separation, is set for final approval in November. Reding is also pursuing a number of other areas, including the introduction of per-second charging when roaming.