Clegg: telecoms regulation must be improved in new Member States

Date: 06/11/03

THE EU's ten future members are "universes" behind the current 15 when it comes to harmonizing their telecoms laws with the rest of the Union, a leading MEP has warned.

Nick Clegg, Parliament's rapporteur on implementation of telecoms rules, said the European Commission is not doing enough to make sure the situation is put right before the newcomers join the Union next May.

"The difference between implementation within the EU and accession countries is universes apart. Many of the accession states have barely implemented the old framework.

"So that is a big, big issue," said Clegg, who was also rapporteur for the EU's landmark "local loop unbundling" regulation - the law which forced the old monopoly operators to open up their local networks to competitors wanting to offer internet services.

The new slimline regime cuts back many of the regulations that were put in place to ensure old monopolies behaved fairly in newly liberalized markets, and focuses on the few remaining market sectors where competition remains a problem.

At the same time, the rules make it easier for firms to enter different markets because they make no distinction between different kinds of technology.

"I have been having a go at the Commission to try and get them to do something about this but they are strangely coy about doing very much," said Clegg.

"They say we are not in a position to start clobbering people over the head . . . but I worry that we are going to end up with a real split in the regulatory environment."

None of the incoming states has a formal derogation giving them the right to delay putting in place the Union's new telecoms regime. But Clegg, a UK Liberal, said they have a "de facto" one because the Commission has indicated that it is more keen to see the countries "thoroughly" put in place the old rules which paved the way for liberalization of telecoms markets on 1 January 1998.