en |    Press releases08.07.2008

Telecoms regulation: Consumers need independent agency, not regulators club

Commenting on yesterday's European parliament industry committee vote approving the del Castillo telecoms report, Green MEP and shadow draftsman David Hammerstein said:

"The approved 'Body of European Regulators of Telecommunications' (BERT) is little more than a national regulators' club, when what we need is independent scrutiny and control of the telecoms sector. The national agencies, many of which are less than independent, will largely finance the body themselves and choose their own director.

While member states, national agencies and operators are not fully independent of each other, prices for telecommunications (and broadband internet in particular) remain inflated. This can be expected to continue as the Commission's initial proposal for an EU agency (EECMA) has had its teeth extracted, with over 20 of its proposed competences dropped. The Commission is left with very limited powers to veto BERT decisions and is accorded only a 'last resort' role to open up markets.

Europe has shown a lack of ambition and muscle to prevent domination by telecom giants and scant guarantees to consumers for better services and prices. Today's vote is a victory for the telecoms industry lobby and a blow to efforts to bridge the digital divide in Europe."