Telecommunications Council

Lord Vaizey of Didcot Excerpts

Wednesday 26th November 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

The Telecommunications Council will take place in Brussels on 27 November 2014. The deputy permanent representative to the EU, Shan Morgan, will represent the UK at this Council, and below are the agenda items and the positions the UK intends to adopt on each of them.

The first item is a progress report from the presidency on proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the accessibility to public sector bodies’ websites (First reading EM 16006/11). While no formal debate is scheduled on the agenda it is expected that some member states may wish to intervene. In this instance the UK’s intervention will strongly support the presidency’s progress report.

The second item is a report on state of play on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a connected continent. (First reading EM 13562/13 and 13555/13 +ADDS 1-2).

I intend to indicate the UK’s continued support for a simplified regulation and in particular an outcome that leads to the cessation of mobile roaming charges by 2016, along with increased consumer protection. I will also signal our support for a principles-based and outcome-focused net-neutrality regulation. Finally, we will reiterate our stance, whereby we do not support an outcome that would give the Commission further competency over spectrum management.

These items will be followed by a debate on the mid-term review of the Commission’s EU 2020 strategy EU2020 preparation of mid-term review. (EU 2020 is the 10-year strategy proposed by the European Commission on 3 March 2010 for advancement of the economy of the European Union. It aimed to produce “smart, sustainable, inclusive growth” with greater co-ordination of national and European policy). The questions in the main focus on the way forward for the digital agenda for Europe (DAE), which is one of the seven flagship initiatives under the EU2020 strategy. The UK’s intervention will include: the UK welcomes the Commission’s decision to prioritise actions to boost the digital economy; and the UK believes the Commission’s plan should focus on five aspects of the digital economy as a coherent package: commerce, data, competition and protection, copyright and telecommunications.

There will then follow discussion on draft council conclusions on internet governance. We are expecting these conclusions to be discussed in detail and it is not clear whether or not they will be agreed. The current text goes into a great number of detailed policy questions and consequently there are a number of unresolved differences of view. The UK has argued that the conclusions should not undermine the role of key organisations in the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance, should not seek to enlarge the role of Governments in that model and should not call on European member states to speak with one voice on these issues. Unless these issues are adequately resolved, the UK will not be able to accept Council conclusions. Other member states may also block consensus, if their own detailed concerns are not addressed.

This will be followed by two items under AOB, the first being information from the presidency on a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning measures to ensure a high level of network and information security across the Union. (First reading EM6342/13). We do not intend to intervene on either of these items.

Finally, under AOB, the Latvian delegation will inform the Council of their priorities for their forthcoming presidency before Council adjourns until the next meeting in summer 2015.