PhoneAbility

12. Timelines

Following the presentation of the Commission’s proposals on 13th November 2007, the Member States will have had an initial exchange of views by the time of the Telecoms Council in December. Negotiations in the Council Working Groups will commence in January, under the Slovenian Presidency, so as to present a progress report at the June Telecoms Council.  Meanwhile the European Parliament’s Committees will be considering the proposals and many Member States will be continuing their public consultations with stakeholders. Negotiations will become critical under the French Presidency in the second half of 2008, as it is vital to gain agreement on a ‘Common Position’ at the Telecoms Council at the end of the year. The first formal reading of the proposals in the European Parliament will probably take place in that period, in readiness for a second reading once the Council’s Common Position has been declared. At the second reading, if the Parliament accepts the Common Position, the new Directives can be adopted but if the Position is rejected then further negotiation is necessary. If the differences between the Council and the Parliament are significant, formal ‘conciliation procedures’ are brought into play and these can be lengthy. In this instance, there is very little time for further negotiation as the elections for the European Parliament are due in the Spring of 2009 and all business will then stop until the new forum is elected. The Czech Republic, which assumes the Presidency in January 2009, will be faced with a difficult task if the Council and Parliament do not agree over the Common Position. In such circumstances concessions will be made in order to save the new Directives and, although there is no Member State veto (as qualified majority voting applies), a grouping of States that has rooted objections to any part of the proposals will have a powerful negotiating position.

If the new Directives can be adopted before March 2009, Member States will have an obligation to transpose them into national laws and apply the measures within a set time – typically 15 months. The new Directives would therefore be activated by July 2010 unless a different time-scale is applied. As it usually takes a little time for new measures to become widely understood and enforced, it is likely to be well into 2011 before the effects of these proposals are appreciated by stakeholders. In 2013 the working of the new Directives could be due for review.

 

Previous

Contents