9 Amendments of Christian EHLER related to 2013/0309(COD)
Amendment 157 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) Europe has to tap all sources of growth to exit the crisis, create jobs and regain its competitiveness. Restoring growth and job creation in the Union is the aim of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Furthermore the Digital Sphere has become a part of the public space where new forms of cross- border trade are established, and business opportunities for European companies in the global digital economy are being created along with innovative market development and social and cultural interaction. The 2013 Spring European Council stressed the importance of the digital single market for growth and called for concrete measures, in order to establish a single market in information and communications technology (ICT) as early as possible. In line with the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy and with this call, this regulation aims at establishing a single market for electronic communications by completing and adapting the existing Union Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications.
Amendment 219 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) Experience in the implementation of the Union's regulatory framework indicates that existing provisions requiring the consistent application of regulatory measures together with the goal of contributing to the development of the internal market have not created sufficient incentives to design access products on the basis of harmonised standards and processes, in particular in relation to fixed networks. When operating in different Member States, operators have difficulties in finding access inputs with the right quality and network and service interoperability levels, and when they are available, such inputs exhibit different technical features. This increases costs and constitutes an obstacle to the provision of services across national borders. Therefore, additionally to the provisions laid down in this regulation, a joint European research approach to define comprehensive and evidence based assessments of challenges and policy solutions, on the global, European and national level, is needed. Cooperation between European and international research and standardisation agencies should be further encouraged.
Amendment 220 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) Experience in the implementation of the Union's regulatory framework indicates that existing provisions requiring the consistent application of regulatory measures together with the goal of contributing to the development of the internal market have not created sufficient incentives to design access products on the basis of harmonised standards and processes, in particular in relation to fixed networks. The lack of common standards and harmonized measures impairs the Union's competitiveness immensely: When operating in different Member States, operators have difficulties in finding access inputs with the right quality and network and service interoperability levels, and when they are available, such inputs exhibit different technical features. This increases costs and constitutes an obstacle to the provision of services across national borders.
Amendment 235 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
Recital 40
(40) Disparities in the national implementation of sector-specific end-user protection rules create significant barriers to the single digital market, create uncertainty, in particular in the form of increased compliance costs for providers of electronic communications to the public wishing to offer services across Member States. Moreover, fragmentation and uncertainty as to the level of protection granted in different Member States undermines end-users' trust and dissuades them from purchasing electronic communications services abroad. In order to achieve the Union's objective to remove barriers to the internal market it is necessary to replace existing, divergent national legal measures with a single and fully harmonised set of sector-specific rules which create a high common level of end-user protection. Such full harmonisation of the legal provisions should not prevent providers of electronic communications to the public from offering end-users contractual arrangements which go beyond that level of protection.
Amendment 293 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 72
Recital 72
(72) The mobile communications market remains fragmented in the Union, with no mobile network covering all Member States. As a consequence, in order to provide mobile communications services to their domestic customers travelling within the Union, roaming providers have to purchase wholesale roaming services from operators in a visited Member State. These wholesale charges constitute an important impediment to providing roaming services at price levels corresponding to domestic mobile services. Therefore further measures should be adopted to facilitate lowering these charges., ensure legal certainty and a help to stabilize the market Commercial or technical agreements among roaming providers which allow a virtual extension of their network coverage across the Union provide a means to internalise wholesale costs. To provide appropriate incentives, certain regulatory obligations laid down in Regulation (EC) No 531/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council26 should be adapted. In particular, when roaming providers, through their own networks or through bilateral or multilateral roaming agreements ensure that all customers in the Union are offered by default roaming tariffs at the level of domestic tariffs, the obligation of domestic providers to enable their customers to access voice, SMS and data roaming services of any alternative roaming provider should not apply to such providers, subject to a transitional period where such access has already been granted. __________________ 26 Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council of 13 June 2012 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (OJ L 172, 30.6.2012, p. 10).
Amendment 309 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 77
Recital 77
(77) In order to provide stability and strategic leadership to BEREC activities, BEREC Board of Regulators should be represented by a full-time Chairperson appointed by the Board of Regulators, for a limited period of time on the basis of merit, skills, knowledge of electronic communication market participants and markets, and of experience relevant to supervision and regulation, following an open selection procedure organised and managed by the Board of Regulators assisted by the Commission. For the designation of the first Chairperson of the Board of Regulators, the Commission should, inter alia, draw up a shortlist of candidates on the basis of merit, skills, knowledge of electronic communication market participants and markets, and of experience relevant to supervision and regulation. For the subsequent designations, the opportunity of having a shortlist drawn up by the Commission should be reviewed in a report to be established pursuant to this Regulation. The Office of BEREC should therefore comprise the Chairperson of the Board of Regulators, a Management Committee and an Administrative Manager.
Amendment 541 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 2
Article 16 – paragraph 2
2. In order to guarantee the smooth functioning of the single market and the implementation of the provisions laid down in this Regulation Member States shall cooperate with each other in the cross-border coordination of the use of radio spectrum in order to ensure compliance with paragraph 1 and to ensure that no Member State is denied equitable access to radio spectrum.
Amendment 569 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 1
Article 21 – paragraph 1
1. Digital freedoms and cross-border trade shall go hand in hand in order to create and optimise business opportunities for European companies and consumer protection in the global digital economy. The freedom of end-users to use public electronic communications networks or publicly available electronic communications services provided by an undertaking established in another Member State shall not be restricted by public authorities.
Amendment 571 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 2
Article 21 – paragraph 2
2. Providers of electronic communications to the public shall not apply any discriminatory requirements or conditions of access or use to end-users based on the end-user's nationality or place of residence unless such differences are objectively justified. Unrestricted access to an open internet and the free flow of information and related services shall be ensured, in accordance with existing legislation.