European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes will urge the EU's Council of Telecoms Ministers in Brussels on 3rd December (starting at 15.00) to boost Internet access in Europe by agreeing to the Commission's September proposal to make spectrum available for wireless broadband by 2013. Wireless broadband is essential to meet the commitments made in the Digital Agenda for Europe to give every European access to basic broadband by 2013 and fast and ultra-fast broadband by 2020. Vice-President Kroes will also brief Ministers on a forthcoming public consultation on the Roaming Regulation and encourage the rapid adoption of the Commission's proposal to expand and modernise the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). In addition she will underline the importance of implementing the Broadband Strategy presented by the Commission in September and urge Member States to support the first European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing.

Broadband connections in Europe are much faster than one year ago according to statistics published today by the European Commission. In July 2010 29% of EU broadband lines had speeds of at least 10 megabits per second (Mbps) (up from 15% one year earlier).Broadband take up continues to grow in the EU with 25.6 subscriptions for every 100 citizens (23.9 one year earlier). Annual growth in mobile broadband is remarkable at 45%, with 6 mobile broadband dedicated access devices (usb-keys or dongles) per 100 citizens.
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The European Commission has decided to refer Lithuania to the EU's Court of Justice for failing to comply with EU rules that require a clear separation between entities which make telecoms rules and those providing telecoms services. At the same time, the Commission has sent a formal request to Romania to comply with the same rules. This separation is essential to preserve the impartiality of national telecoms regulators, guaranteeing fair regulation for consumers and businesses and maintaining competition. The request to Romania takes the form of a 'reasoned opinion' under EU infringement procedures. If Romania fails to comply within two months, the Commission may decide to refer it to the Court of Justice.

The European Commission has today asked Luxembourg to comply with EU telecoms rules requiring simple and inexpensive out-of-court procedures to be put in place for consumers involved in telecoms service disputes. Such dispute resolution systems are crucial for effective consumer protection. The request takes the form of a "reasoned opinion" under EU infringement procedures. Luxembourg now has two months to comply with the relevant EU law, otherwise the Commission may refer it to the EU's Court of Justice.

Nine European regions have teamed up to run one of the largest ever telemedicine trials, the Renewing Health large-scale pilot project. By February 1, 2011, all regions will have gone live. The aim is to generate data for European healthcare systems so that telemedicine can be adopted as part of regular care for chronically ill patients. Renewing Health is a highly ambitious clinical trial that will involve close to 8,000 patients in the intervention groups with cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or diabetes from nine regions in different parts of Europe.

The European Commission today made a final call to 14 EU Member States to make the Europe-wide 116 000 hotline for missing children operational as soon as possible. The hotline provides a single number for missing children and their parents to call for help anywhere in the EU. Having the same hotline will help children and parents in trouble get help when away from home, such as during family holidays. In a report adopted today, the Commission takes stock of the situation in the Member States, proposes common minimum quality requirements for the service throughout the EU and gives Member States a last chance to make the hotline operational before considering legislative measures.

There is a near consensus on the importance of preserving the openness of the internet, according to the results of a public consultation launched on 30th June by the European Commission on the open internet and net neutrality. A total of 318 stakeholders at every level of the value chain provided input to the consultation. These included BEREC, the body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications, operators, internet service providers, Member States' authorities, consumer and civil society organisations as well as individuals. The consultation did not reveal a widespread call for further EU legislation, but there is an expectation that additional guidance may be needed in the future. Discussions will continue on 11th November at the "Net neutrality summit" at which the Commission and the European Parliament will discuss a forthcoming Commission report on net neutrality.

Europe's cyber security experts are testing their responses today in the first ever pan-European cyber-attack simulation exercise. In "Cyber Europe 2010", experts will try to counter simulated attempts by hackers to paralyse critical online services in several EU Member States. The simulation will be based on a scenario where internet connectivity between European countries would be gradually lost or significantly reduced in all participating countries so that citizens, businesses and public institutions would find it difficult to access essential online services. In the exercise, Member States will need to cooperate with each other to avoid a simulated total network crash.

The European Commission has welcomed the information that the Swedish telecoms regulator (Post- och Telestyrelsen, PTS) now has the requisite powers to solve disputes between operators over terms and conditions of interconnection agreements, in accordance with EU telecoms rules. The Commission has therefore closed the infringement proceedings it launched in January 2008. EU telecoms rules require that national regulators must be able, in the event of a dispute arising between companies which provide telecoms networks or services, to issue a binding decision to resolve the dispute, at the request of either party.

The European Commission has today decided to request Poland to amend its national legislation to ensure full compliance with EU telecoms rules. In particular, the Commission considers that Polish rules on the setting of prices for wholesale telecoms services, which alternative operators have to pay to access the network of the dominant operator, are liable to cause uncertainty and be discriminatory for telecoms companies. Regulatory certainty is essential if operators are to provide Polish citizens and businesses with competitive services at competitive prices. The request to Poland is in the form of a so-called 'reasoned opinion' under EU infringement procedures. Poland now has two months to inform the Commission of measures taken to comply with EU telecom rules. If the Polish authorities fail to do so, the Commission may refer Poland to the EU Court of Justice.

The European Commission welcomes Bulgaria's commitment to advance measures for implementing the legal and technical requirements of EU law on the harmonised use of the 169 MHz frequency band. The Commission had asked the Bulgarian Government to clarify how it was complying with a Commission Decision which paves the way for the use of specific radio applications of social and economic value such as social alarms, hearing aids, smart metering or asset tracking. Bulgaria has indicated that, by the end of 2013, it will make available for general use this frequency band which is currently used for a private radio communications system. The Commission will monitor compliance with this commitment.

"Investments, pensions and securities", "real estate services" and "internet service provision" are the three markets most likely to be failing consumers across the EU, according to the autumn 2010 Consumer Markets Scoreboard published today. Among goods markets, "second-hand cars", "clothing and footwear" and meat have scored lowest. At the other end of the spectrum, airlines show good results in spite of the disruptions of spring 2010 and consumers also appreciate cultural goods and services. The Scoreboard ranks consumer markets by looking at indicators such as comparability, consumer trust, consumer satisfaction, problems, complaints, the ease of switching providers, prices, etc. The purpose is to identify markets that appear most at risk of malfunctioning, for follow-up studies, which analyse problems in-depth and identify policy responses. For the first time, the Scoreboard ranks as many as 50 different markets – from food to domestic appliances to car repair – in all EU countries.

In a letter sent to the Italian telecoms regulator (AGCOM), the European Commission agrees with AGCOM`s general approach to base wholesale prices for access to Telecom Italia`s network on a costing model which mimics costs incurred by an efficient operator managing a newly built copper network in a competitive market - i.e. Bottom Up Long Run Incremental Costs, BU-LRIC. However, the Commission has expressed its concerns that AGCOM has not consistently applied this model to calculate the prices which alternative operators would be charged for accessing Telecom Italia's network. AGCOM plans to increase certain access prices, in particular for local loop unbundling (LLU) services. In the Commission's view the prices proposed by AGCOM do not sufficiently reflect the maintenance and commercial costs of an efficient operator managing a newly-built copper network. This creates a risk that alternative operators would have to pay prices higher than those which they should normally pay for high quality access to a modern network. The Commission requests AGCOM to re-examine its cost calculation using data of an efficient company managing a newly-built copper network. The resulting prices would give the correct investment signals to both access-seeker and access-provider and ensure that consumers pay fair prices for high-speed Internet access. AGCOM is required under EU telecoms rules to “take utmost account” of the Commission’s comments.

The European Commission today unveiled two new measures to ensure that Europe can defend itself from attacks against its key information (IT) systems. A proposal for a Directive to deal with new cyber crimes, such as large-scale cyber attacks, is complemented by a proposal for a Regulation to strengthen and modernise the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA).

The European Commission today presented a proposal for a new mandate to strengthen and modernise the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). This initiative is foreseen by the Digital Agenda for Europe (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200) and to boost trust and network security. Strengthening and modernising ENISA will help the EU, Member States and private stakeholders develop their capabilities and preparedness to prevent, detect and respond to cyber-security challenges. The proposal will be forwarded to the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers for adoption. The ENISA proposal is complemented by a proposal for a Directive to deal with new cyber crimes, such as large-scale cyber attacks ("botnets") See also IP/10/1239 and MEMO/10/463.

Background Memo with Frequently Asked Questions

The European Commission has today decided to request France and Spain to abolish specific charges on the turnover of telecoms operators introduced when the Member States concerned decided to end paid advertising on public TV channels. In both cases, the Commission considers these "telecoms taxes" to be incompatible with EU telecoms rules, which require specific charges on telecoms operators to be specifically and directly related to covering the costs of regulating the telecoms sector. The requests take the form of "reasoned opinions" under EU infringement procedures. France and Spain now have two months to inform the Commission of measures taken to comply with EU telecoms rules. If they fail to do so, the Commission may refer them to the EU Court of Justice.

The European Commission has decided to refer the United Kingdom to the EU's Court of Justice for not fully implementing EU rules on the confidentiality of electronic communications such as e-mail or internet browsing. Specifically, the Commission considers that UK law does not comply with EU rules on consent to interception and on enforcement by supervisory authorities. The EU rules in question are laid down in the ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC and the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. The infringement procedure was opened in April 2009 (IP/09/570), following complaints from UK internet users notably with regard to targeted advertising based on analysis of users’ internet traffic. The Commission previously requested the UK authorities in October 2009 (IP/09/1626) to amend their rules to comply with EU law.

The European Commission today unveiled two new measures to ensure that Europe can defend itself from attacks against its key information (IT) systems. A proposal for a Directive to deal with new cyber crimes, such as large-scale cyber attacks, is complemented by a proposal for a Regulation to strengthen and modernise the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). The two initiatives are foreseen by the Digital Agenda for Europe and the Stockholm Programme to boost trust and network security (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200). Under the proposed Directive, the perpetrators of cyber attacks and the producers of related and malicious software could be prosecuted, and would face heavier criminal sanctions. Member States would be also obliged to quickly respond to urgent requests for help in the case of cyber-attacks, rendering European justice and police cooperation in this area more effective. Strengthening and modernising ENISA would also help the EU, Member States and private stakeholders develop their capabilities and preparedness to prevent, detect and respond to cyber-security challenges. Both proposals will be forwarded to the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers for adoption.

The Internet Governance Forum meeting in Vilnius (Lithuania) on 14-17 September concluded a successful fifth meeting. As in previous years, it gathered a wide range of participants from all over the globe representing the any diverse Internet Governance stakeholders. After Athens in 2006, this was the second time the IGF was hosted by an EU Member State. This is a testimony of Europe's strong support for developing a global and multi-stakeholder debate on the governance of the Internet.