The House held a debate on Oral Question O-000180/2011 to the Commission on the EU policy approach to the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12). A motion for a resolution closing this debate was due to be put to the vote later that same day.

Following the debate held in plenary on 15 September 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution tabled by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy on the European Union’s policy approach to the ITU World Radio communication Conference 2012 (WRC-12), which will conclude with the adoption of modifications to the ITU Radio Regulations.

It welcomes the Commission communication on the EU's policy approach to the ITU World Radio communication Conference 2012 (WRC-12), and agrees with the analysis of the importance of the impact of the WRC-12 on EU policies, noting also that the EU must speak with one voice in multilateral negotiations. Accordingly, Parliament strongly encourages Member States to endorse these policy orientations and actively promote them in the WRC-12. As long as the Commission does not hold the right in ITU to speak on behalf of the EU, Member States should closely coordinate a common Union position on the basis of the RSPP, together with the Commission. Members also state that a stronger role for the EU in spectrum policy calls for a stronger formal position of the EU in the ITU and they strongly support the re-examination of its status in the next ITU plenipotentiary conference in 2014.

Members draw attention to the 25 individual agenda items of the WRC-12 and their potential impact on EU policies and objectives, and ask Member States to safeguard these objectives and resist any modification of the ITU Radio Regulations that would affect their scope and their substance . They recall Parliament’s position and stress the need to allocate sufficient and appropriate spectrum for mobile data traffic amounting to at least 1 200 MHz overall by 2015 to support Union policy objectives and to best meet the increasing demand for mobile data traffic. Any new measures should be transparent and should not distort competition or disadvantage newcomers to the telecommunications market . Member States are urged to support the Commission in promoting the inclusion of this relevant point in the agenda for the next WRC conference in 2016.

Parliament reiterates its call to Member States and the Commission to pursue an ambitious harmonisation agenda pursuant to the ITU conclusions and calls on the Commission to review the need for freeing additional spectrum band , taking into account the evolution of spectrum technologies, market experience with new services, the possible future needs of terrestrial radio and television broadcasting and the lack of spectrum in other bands adequate for wireless broadband coverage in order to make this possible, depending on the necessary decisions being taken, by 2012 and 2016.

Lastly, Parliament asks the Commission to report on the results and the achievements of the WRC-12.