Transcript Document

European Union
• Nationalism versus regional cooperation
• Importance of trade as a motive for
unification
• Centrality of telecommunications to
unification
• Progressive move toward competition
Membership (now 27 countries)
• Original members: Germany, France, Italy,
Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg
• 1973, UK, Ireland, Denmark
• 1981, Greece
• 1986, Spain and Portugal
• 1995, Sweden, Finland, Austria
New entrants in 2004
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Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Poland
Slovakia
Slovenia
New entrants in 2007
• Bulgaria
• Romania
Another possible entrant
• Turkey
Membership requirements
• Nations must:
– Be European
– Have stable institutions which assure
democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and
respect for minorities
– Have a viable market economy
– Be able to adopt the objectives of the Union
Steps toward union
• 1951, European Coal and Steel Community (tariff-free
market for Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands)
• 1957, Treaty of Rome created EEC--European Economic
Community (tariff-free market for oil, natural gas,
electricity)
• 1967, Merger of EEC with European Coal and Steel
Community and with Euratom
• 1985 White Paper proposing a single Europe
• 1987 Single European Act--European Community to
become European Union in 1993.
– No customs duties; free movement of people, goods, capital;
harmonize tax rates; one market for telecommunications
More steps toward unification
• 1993, Maastricht Treaty
– Common currency; coordination of foreign
policy and defense, and of working conditions
• 1997, Treaty of Amsterdam
– Place employment and citizens' rights at heart
of EU; strengthen security; give Europe
stronger voice in world affairs; make structure
more efficient to accommodate growth and new
members
Treaty of Amsterdam
• Establishes two tiers of decisions/issues
– community wide issues like agriculture,
telecommunications, etc. handled as usual
– foreign policy and security and cooperation in
justice and home affairs handled at the Council
(intergovernmental) level
Treaty of Nice
• Went into effect in February 2003
• Adapt the way the EU operates as it brings
in so many new Member States
Treaty of Lisbon
• Signed by EU leaders December 13, 2007
• Had to be ratified by all 27 countries before going
into effect—hoped for date was by January 1,
2009, but didn’t become law till December 2009
• More power for the European Parliament
• Citizens’ initiative—1 million citizens can call on
the Commission to bring forward new policy
proposals
More on Treaty of Lisbon
• Provides for members to be able to withdraw from the EU
• Qualified majority as of 2014 will be when 55% of
member states representing 65% of population vote in the
affirmative
• Creates a president of the European council elected for 2 ½
year terms
• creates a new High Representative in foreign affairs and
security policy
• Gives legal binding force to charter of fundamental rights
• New provisions on civil protection, humanitarian aid and
public health
Council of the EU
• Delegation from each member state; ministerial
meetings still chaired by country that has rotating
EU presidency every 6 months—sets overall
policy
• Decision making body, works either by qualified
majority vote, or by unanimity (for taxation,
immigration, foreign security); Treaty of Nice
expands use of qualified majority to more types of
decisions (qualified majority represents 62% of
total population of the Union)
Weighted votes on the Council
• Germany, France, Italy,
UK– 29
• Spain-27
• Netherlands – 13
• Belgium, Greece,
Portugal—12
• Austria, Sweden-10
• Denmark, Ireland,
Finland—7
• Luxembourg-4
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Poland-27
Czech Rep, Hungary-12
Lithuania, Slovakia – 7
Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia,
Slovenia – 4
• Malta – 3
• Romania – 14
• Bulgaria- 10
European Parliament
• Elected body , every five years
• Originally consultative role only; each treaty has
given it a greater role
• Consultation procedure--opinion on Commission
proposals before Council can pass them
• Cooperation procedure--amend legislation
• Co-decision procedure--equal with Council
• Assent--must approve major issues
• Membership—785 members from all 27 nations
• approves EU budget each year
European Commission
• Has 27 members –one from each nation—5 year terms
• President chosen by the EU governments and endorsed by
Parliament
• Begins the legislative process with initiatives for
Community policies –drafts proposals for new laws which
go to parliament and council
• issues related to foreign policy and security and to
cooperation in justice and home affairs most likely to start
with Council, but Commission takes part in discussions
• Guardian of the Treaties
• Manages EU budget
More of the structure
• European Court of Justice
• Economic and Social Committee--set up by
Treaty of Rome ; 344 members represent
consumers, unions, etc—advisory boady
• Committee of the Regions--set up by
Maastricht Treaty; 344 members –consulted
regarding transportation, health,
employment or education
Community Legal Structure
• Adopted by Council or by Council and Parliament
– regulations--directly applied without the need for
national measures to implement them
– directives--bind Member States as to objectives to be
achieved, not to means to be used
– decisions--binding upon those to whom they are
addressed--member states or organizations or
individuals
– recommendations and opinions--not binding
Importance of Telecom to the EU
• Commission created Senior Officials Group
on Telecommunications--came up with
1984 program for telecom:
– standards development
– common research (RACE and now ACTS)
– development programs (STARS)
Movement toward liberalization
in Telecom
• Green Paper 1987
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Limit monopolies to basic services
Competition in VANs, etc.
EC-wide interoperability
ONP
Competition in terminal equipment
Separate regulator and operator
No cross subsidization
Creation of ETSI
Further actions on telecom
• 1988 Opened terminal equipment market
• 1990 Service and ONP framework--Competition
in VANs; resale of data from January 1993
• 1994 Green paper on satellite communications
• 1994 Green paper on mobile and PCN; opening of
mobile market in 1996
Steps toward full competition
• Council resolution of July 1993--liberalization of all public
voice telephony by 1/1/98 (exemptions for less developed
member states); specified universal service goal
• March 1996 directive on implementing competition, called
for:
– tariff rebalancing
– directories
– publication of interconnection conditions
– cost accounting in place to identify costs of
interconnection
– number portability and a numbering plan
– licensing of new entrants
“Information Society”
• Recognition that there are broad social and
organization changes which have to be
confronted as result of developments in
information and communication
• Enhancing both the economic well-being of
societies in the EU and the quality of
people's lives
Principles
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Market forces must drive information society
Universal service must be ensured
Information society should be finance by private sector
Cultural and linguistic diversity should be preserved
Personal privacy must be protected
Cooperation should be developed with developing nations
in East and Central Europe
• Public must be educated
Move toward competition
• Directorate General on Competition
– Responsible for EU competition policy
– Article 90 of the EC Treaty
• Allows Commission to reverse policy measures passed by
Member States relating to exclusive or special rights if violates
another article of the Treaty
• Can’t disregard strong member state resistance
– Article 85 of EC Treaty
• Disallows abuse of dominant market position
• Council
– Passed regulatory measures like the ONP Framework
Directive in 1990
The problem of federalism
• No European-wide regulatory body for
telecommunication
• National regulatory authorities (NRAs) created by
the member states
– Attempting to become primary regulatory authorities
• Commission
– Attempting to install EU-wide rules in a harmonized
way
Examples of problems
• Cable/TV cross ownership—draft directive
defeated, especially by Germany
• Pricing and cost reforms—not EU-wide
• Interconnection
• Carrier selection
• licensing