Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-17-Speech-2-357"
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"en.20080617.39.2-357"2
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"The question posed by the Honorable Member concerns the decision of the Cour d’Appel de Bruxelles of 4 April 2008 to suspend IBPT’s regulatory decision of 18 December 2007 regarding mobile termination tariffs in Belgium. This regulatory decision was previously notified to and assessed by the Commission under Article 7 of the Framework Directive. The Commission is aware of this court decision and was informed by the national regulatory authority, IBPT, that, following this annulment, it had launched a national consultation on a draft decision resetting mobile termination rates at the same asymmetric level as in its previous regulatory decision of 11 August 2006.
In the context of the Community consultation mechanism (the ‘Article 7 procedure’), the Commission has expressed its view on numerous occasions that the termination rates should be reduced to the level of the efficient cost. This is to ensure a level playing field amongst different operators, to provide operators with the incentive to become efficient, and to bring more benefits to consumers, including lower prices. The Commission has recognised the need for a transitional period for operators to achieve the efficient cost level. However, the persistence of a higher termination rate would not be justified after a period long enough for an operator to adapt to market conditions and become efficient, unless there are objective cost differences which are beyond the control of the operators concerned.
The Commission is mindful of the fact that differing approaches to the regulation of termination rates have the potential to hamper the consolidation of the internal market and the realisation of consumer benefits from cross-border competition and services, and this is why the Commission has made it a priority to provide guidance and greater legal certainty to both operators and national regulatory authorities in the regulation of the termination markets. To this end, the Commission is working on a recommendation on a common approach to both mobile and fixed termination rates which aims at promoting greater clarity and consistency in this important but also very complex area, ensuring maximum benefits to consumers in terms of affordable prices and efficient development of innovative services. Such a recommendation may also give guidance to national courts.
Consolidation of the internal market could also be hampered if court decisions in different Member States result in a situation where different interpretations are given on how similar competition problems need to be addressed. In any case, the Commission closely follows all court decisions and judgments, including in the area of termination markets such as the decision of the Cour d’Appel to which the Honorable Member refers in his question."@en1
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