Telecoms package: the art of compromise
Delayed reposting of my article for New Europe on the outcome of the second reading of the telecoms package.
High drama and multilevel political compromise up until the last minute were the hallmarks of the second reading of the telecoms package during the last plenary session of the European Parliament, before the upcoming elections in June. Rights activists rallied in a last-ditch attempt, and, with the help of an unlikely coalition of political groups, managed to defy the Council and restore an amendment, supported by Parliament majority in 1st reading, to protect the fundamental rights of Internet users from extrajudicial punitive measures -such as French President Sarkozy’s “three-strikes” proposed law. It was a fitting conclusion to the charged digital rights battles taking place during the parliamentary term coming to a close, since a central theme of the telecoms package was the recognition of internet access itself as a fundamental right; a view also espoused by Commissioner Reding, an early convert to the original amendment 138 in the Trautmann (ITRE) report, who called on the Council, in light of the economic crisis and the importance of the reforms achieved, to ratify the amended compromise, rather than delay adoption of the telecoms package by entering it into conciliation.
Battle for fundamental rights won?
“La Quadrature du net”, the French activist group which led the fight to preserve amendment 138, hailed the remarkable citizen mobilization and courageous Parliament stance to safeguard essential values, but noted that the European Parliament adopted a soft compromise on issues of network equity, and that no strong protection against “net discrimination” was adopted.
The NGO was referring to the Harbour (IMCO) report, which included amendments to the universal service and consumer rights directives, making provisions for network management practices by telecom operators, such as traffic shaping and deep packet inspection, which could endanger net neutrality as well as privacy. The compromise text voted on neither authorises nor prohibits access limitations imposed by providers but it does introduce an obligation to inform users where restrictions exist.
Activist amendments on both reports, restoring safeguards that were voted in 1st reading but were later removed or watered down by the Council and rapporteurs to achieve a compromise, were tendered by a coalition of GUE/NGL, Greens and IND/DEM MEPs, while a last minute voting order change requested by Rebecca Harms (Greens) and Alexander Alvaro (ALDE) on the Trautmann report and the almost unanimous support of the PSE block made it possible for supporters of the original amendment 138 to carry the day with 407 in favour, 57 against and 151 abstentions, thus temporarily scuppering the whole package, pending Council agreement or conciliation. This move is widely seen as a strong reaffirmation of the condemnation of French President Sarkozy’s HADOPI (“three strikes”) law to allow ISPs to disconnect filesharers that violate copyright without a prior judicial order, which was narrowly defeated in the French parliament in early April but recently reintroduced.
“Amendment 138″ on Framework Directive 2002/21/EC, article 8 states that: “no restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end-users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities, notably in accordance with Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union on freedom of expression and information, save when public security is threatened in which case the ruling may be subsequent”
PSE MEP Stavros Lambrinidis, the shadow rapporteur of the e-privacy directive, attached to the Harbour compromise, also hailed it’s succesful revision enforcing mandatory notification of security breaches affecting personal data, user consent for the storing of cookies and the protection of IP addresses as personal data.
Infrastructure support, universal service, harmonized regulation and consumer rights
The remainder of the compromise between Parliament and Council was preserved in the vote, as the voting order change request filed for the Harbour report on behalf of the Citizen Rights Amendments supporters was denied. Measures agreed on include investments in new communications infrastructure, the reform of radio spectrum use, clear consumer rights and privacy protection. Parliament voted to promote efficient investment and innovation in “next-generation access networks” and introduce the notion of “universal service”, obliging operators to provide a minimum package of services of adequate quality to support voice and facsimile for functional internet access, accessible to all users at an affordable price, while clearer and comprehensive service contract rules were delineated to improve consumer protection. National regulators will be less beholden to local political meddling and will be able to enforce functional separation on telecoms operators, as a last resort measure. Their remedies will be overseen by the Commission, who will be able to issue binding recommendations, and a new European telecoms regulation authority (BEREC) will be instituted to replace their existing loose cooperation. Other prominent telecommunications reforms include more flexible management of wireless spectrum use, to utilize the “digital dividend”, freed as a result of the switchover from analogue to digital TV; guaranteed free access to emergency telephone numbers; fixed or mobile operator number portability in 1 working day; and provisions for faster roll-out of full 3G coverage.
Sources:
- No agreement on reform of telecom legislation (European Parliament)
- European Parliament Approves EU Telecoms Reform but Adds 1 Amendment: Commission Reaction (European Commission)
- Amendment 138/46 adopted again. Internet is a fundamental right in Europe (La Quadrature du net)
- European Parliament rejects Telecoms Package (ipTegrity)
