European Regulatory Framework

timod

Did a bit a bit of browsing. The EU sites aren't exactly the most intuitive....

Anyway, from:
http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/telecoms/regulatory/new_rf/index_en.htm

There's a table showing the stages of the documents.

In the final stage of the Access and Interconnection part
(http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/telecoms/regulatory/new_rf/documents/03670en1_corr_vers.pdf)

Article 13

Price control and cost accounting obligations

1. A national regulatory authority may, in accordance with the provisions of Article 8, impose
obligations relating to cost recovery and price controls, including obligations for cost orientation of
prices and obligations concerning cost accounting systems, for the provision of specific types of
interconnection and/or access, in situations where a market analysis indicates that a lack of effective
competition means that the operator concerned might sustain prices at an excessively high level, or
apply a price squeeze, to the detriment of end-users. National regulatory authorities shall take into
account the investment made by the operator and allow him a reasonable rate of return on adequate
capital employed, taking into account the risks involved.

2. National regulatory authorities shall ensure that any cost recovery mechanism or pricing
methodology that is mandated serves to promote efficiency and sustainable competition and
maximise consumer benefits. In this regard national regulatory authorities may also take account of
prices available in comparable competitive markets.

3. Where an operator has an obligation regarding the cost orientation of its prices, the burden of
proof that charges are derived from costs including a reasonable rate of return on investment shall
lie with the operator concerned. For the purpose of calculating the cost of efficient provision of
services, national regulatory authorities may use cost accounting methods independent of those used
by the undertaking. National regulatory authorities may require an operator to provide full
justification for its prices, and may, where appropriate, require prices to be adjusted.

4. National regulatory authorities shall ensure that, where implementation of a cost accounting
system is mandated in order to support price controls, a description of the cost accounting system is
made publicly available, showing at least the main categories under which costs are grouped and the
rules used for the allocation of costs. Compliance with the cost accounting system shall be verified
by a qualified independent body. A statement concerning compliance shall be published annually.

I can't seem to find anything that explicity says flat rate, or FRIACO - but I might have missed something.

edit:

Also lots of interesting stuff in the Universal Service section:
http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/telecoms/regulatory/new_rf/documents/03673en1.pdf

J@ck Chri5tie

Have a look at:

European Competitive Telecommunications Association
http://www.ectaportal.com/

J@ck Chri5tie

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12/06/2001 S110 Community Institutions - Commission - Services - General information

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B-Brussels: call for expression of interest from experts in the field of media, Internet and related intellectual property rights for competition policy issues

2001/S 110-074807

Commission


The Commission of the European Communities and, specifically, the media unit of the Competition Directorate-General, has decided to launch a call for expression of interest from experts to provide legal studies and economic/technical assistance in the field of media and competition policy.

The purpose of this call for expression of interest is to build up, after a selection process, a list of potential contractors who will subsequently be invited to submit tenders for specific tasks to be defined by Competition DG in their fields of expertise. These expressions of interest should be sent to:

Mr J. Nuijten , J70-2/110, Commission of the European Communities, rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200, B- 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel.

Other contract details: tel.: (32-2) 296 89 43, fax: (32-2) 296 98 04, e-mail: jan.nuijten@cec.eu.int, telex: COMEUR B 21877, telegraphic address: COMEUR Brussels.

Candidates wishing to present their details for inclusion in this file of potential contractors should ensure that their submission complies, in full, with the detailed requirements set out below. Only those potential contractors fulfilling the criteria set out in 4 will be included on the list to be prepared by the media unit of Competition DG. Once a list of successful candidates has been established, the media unit will contact, as necessary, either some or all of the successful candidates, according to the specific field in which assistance is required. These candidates will be asked to submit cost estimates for the work to be undertaken, as specified by the Commission at this time.

It should be noted that the list as established will be used exclusively for work in areas in which the thresholds set out in the public procurement directives are not exceeded.

1. Background: New information technologies have a tremendous impact on the whole economy. New markets will be created in the new economy and anti-competitive practices of an unknown dimension might arise.
More specifically, digitalization and broadband Internet is leading to convergence between the media, telecommunications and information technology world. This convergence is expected to stimulate the development of new products and the arrival of new players on the markets. However, convergence is equally expected to lead to substantial horizontal and vertical integration between the players on the market and to a shifting of concentration of market power.

The role of the gateway controllers (equipment suppliers and infrastructure platforms) in such a converged environment is well-known. But also content providers play a crucial part. As the economic importance of content is still growing, new forms of content arise and the distribution methods change.

It is vital for the European Commission to combat anti-competitive practices and maintain fair competition in these markets.

In this context, the media unit of DG Competition is developing its policy and pursues a number of investigations in the media and multimedia sector. Hereby, assistance will be required to refine the market definition issues in the sector and to provide specific legal, economic and technical expertise in a number of cases being dealt with in the media sector.

2. Objective: The main purpose of the contracts which will be concluded within the framework of the present call for expression of interest will be to supply the Commission with specific studies on competition policy in the area of media and multimedia. The studies will be mainly legal but can also deal with economic or technical issues. Market definition issues will be a key element in the studies. Examples of the issues that might be the subject of the studies are the methodology of defining e-commerce markets, the definition of specific content markets, analysis of the different revenue streams of collecting societies, the impact of changing music distribution on the market definition and upcoming global competition issues in this area.
It is also envisaged to conclude contracts to provide specific expertise to the Commission in the context of competition cases in the television, media and Internet sector undertaken by the media unit of DG Competition and in other areas of concern in this sector.

The work will be carried out on the contractor's premises, but (for reasons of confidentiality) certain tasks may have to be performed on Commission premises. Meetings with the relevant Commission staff can also be required.

Because of the highly sensitive commercial nature of these investigations, contractors might be required to sign confidentiality clauses and declarations of conflicts of interest for specific work tasks.

The cost of the work required will be entirely funded by the Commission.

3. Areas in which assistance is sought: The media unit of DG Competition wishes to establish a list of expert consultants that it may call upon, in the future, to assist in its cases in the following areas:
- competition policy relating to television, Internet and other media markets;

- competition policy relating to copyrights and music distribution;

- technical and economic assessment of media markets and related markets;

- all relevant related areas.

4. Establishment of the list of potential contractors: Natural or legal persons wishing to apply for registration on the list are invited to do so in accordance with the provisions of this notice.
The contracting authority will register on the list those applicants who meet the criteria listed in 5.

For each specific contract relating to the fields described in 3, the contracting authority will dispatch the tender document and the invitation to tender to all applicants on the list or to those selected on the basis of the criteria for pre-selection of the contract concerned.

Candidates must have a demonstrable knowledge of some of the relevant areas detailed above; moreover, they must possess the relevant financial, economic and technological skills necessary to provide an objective, detailed and conclusive opinion on the questions addressed. Candidates must also be able to demonstrate that they can provide a punctual and high-quality service and can operate in a number of Community languages and be able to provide translations into either French or English.

5. Tendering process: Candidates being either legal or natural persons who believe that they fulfil all of these conditions should submit their expressions of interest in accordance with the instructions below.
Expressions of interest must be submitted by registered post. The postmark will be accepted as proof of the date of submission.

Expressions of interest must be placed inside 2 sealed envelopes. The inner envelope, addressed to the department indicated above, should be marked 'COMP/C2/2001/AMI/01 - A ne pas ouvrir par le service courrier'. Self-adhesive envelopes which can be opened and resealed without trace may not be used.

As separate submissions can be made for the legal parts (section 3, first 2 indents) or the economic/technical part (section 3, third indent), the letter of expression of interest must state if the candidate wishes to participate in all the parts or in specific parts of the procedure. In that case, the letter of expression of interest should indicate the field(s) in which the candidate wishes to offer their services, chosen from the list set out above (see 3). The letter of expression of interest must also be duly signed.

The following documentation must be enclosed with the letter:

1: personal and contact details of the candidate: name, legal status, postal and e-mail addresses, relevant home pages (if any), telephone, telex and fax numbers and name of the person to contact;

2: a curriculum vitae of the candidate showing relevant skills in the field(s) selected and in the service(s) offered, in particular demonstrating that the criteria set out in 3 and 4 are fulfilled. Where appropriate, the CVs of support staff should also be included;

3: the candidate's ability to understand the official languages of the European Union. The number of official languages of the EU the candidate is able to understand and the number of languages the candidate is able to write should be indicated (and also, if appropriate, for support staff);

4: a document certifying the legal status of the candidate;

5: evidence of the candidate's financial and economic means in the form of annual accounts or extracts from the accounts or a declaration of total annual turnover.

The candidate's ability to provide the required service(s) will be assessed on the basis of, in particular, the candidate's knowledge, efficiency, experience and proposed work approach.

Candidates supplying this documentation and selected for inclusion in the file of potential candidates will not be required to repeat the above general information when answering specific invitations to tender to follow up their expression of interest.

Submissions that are vague or incomplete will not be considered.

All proposers will be informed of the result of their expression of interest.

The list resulting from the call for expressions of interest will remain valid until 1.7.2004.

A first selection, to form the initial list, will be made on the basis of applications which should be sent in by 31.7.2001. Subsequent applications will be evaluated on an ad hoc basis and successful applicants will then be added to the list. Candidates will be informed of the outcome of their application.

J@ck Chri5tie

"The aim of the Commission is now to receive comments on the report from all interested parties. Comments can be sent to comp-local-loop@cec.eu.int until April 30th. A public hearing will be organised before summer to discuss the findings of the report and the comments received. "
European Commission/Competition/Latest News
http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/index_en.html

Slow progress in unbundling of the local loop: Commission publishes report on sector enquiry
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/02/348|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=


Perhaps we could submit something to comp-local-loop@cec.eu.int

JC

J@ck Chri5tie

Sector Inquiries - Local Loop
http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/antitrust/others/sector_inquiries/local_loop/

timod

Originally posted by J@ck Chri5tie

1 2 3 4 5
B-Brussels: call for expression of interest from experts in the field of media, Internet and related intellectual property rights for competition policy issues

er, I fail to see how a tender process for a contract can help us...?

edit: BTW I started the thread to discuss the European Regulatory Framework as mentioned by the Minister in the Dail, and how *it* can give us something similar to "our" amendment that was rejected. The competition stuff above, while definitely interesting is a little OT IMHO.

Tim !

J@ck Chri5tie

The need for 'Unmetered access' is mentioned here:

http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/news_library/new_documents/benchmarking/benchmarking_en.pdf

Also says "The Commission has recognised the importance of broadband
Internet access as a "key factor for improving the performance of the economy" "

see also:

http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/benchmarking/index_en.htm

vinnyfitz

I'm having a problem pasting a usable link but these are the three docs we need to get our heads around.

This is the link to the search base in the EUs legal Directory Lex

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/search/search_lip.html
then type in to the seach engine "electronic communications" and hit search this is what you get in summary with links on to the texts:

Common Position (EC) No 37/2001 of 17 September 2001 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a European Parliament and Council Directive on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive)

Official Journal C 337 , 30/11/2001 P. 0018 - 0033


3. Common Position (EC) No 38/2001 of 17 September 2001 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a European Parliament and Council Directive on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive)

Official Journal C 337 , 30/11/2001 P. 0034 - 0054


4. Common Position (EC) No 39/2001 of 17 September 2001 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a European Parliament and Council Directive on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive)

vinnyfitz

Found this announcement in the Commission's Dublin site.

Thursday, February 14th 2002


The Council of Ministers today adopted the Telecoms package. Member States now have 15 months to implement this package into their national laws. The Telecoms package is a major overhaul of the regulatory framework for communications services, aimed at bringing more competition in this crucial sector for the European economy. Welcoming the adoption of the package Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen stated: "This pro-competitive package completes the internal market for the information society, delivering a better deal for consumers in terms of price, quality and value for money. It also provides greater transparency and legal certainty for all players operating in the internal market."

The Telecoms package includes the following elements:


a directive on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework directive)

an authorisation directive

an access & interconnection directive

a directive on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services

a decision on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy
The new package is technology-neutral, treating all transmission networks in an equivalent manner, giving the EU a pro-competitive regulatory framework that is well ahead of our major trading partners. It cuts away the unnecessary red tape, which obstructs entry to national markets. And it ensures that market players are regulated only where necessary and in a consistent manner across the EU, inter alia by giving the Commission powers to require national regulatory authorities to withdraw draft decisions in key areas linked to the functioning of the internal market.

Here is the link
http://www.euireland.ie/news/infosoc/0202/telecomspackage.htm

cableskeptic

Just in case you didn't see this:

The ODTR issued a consultancy paper recently on this new EU Framework. Have a read of doc 02/22.

The deadline for submission of comments was last week but there will be other opportunites to submit your feedback.

It would seem that in the main the ODTR welcomes the EU Framework but it still seems to be hung up on an archaic 'use of spectrum' concept e.g. VHF and UHF should only be used for broadcast TV in spite of the fact that this spectrum is ideal for 4G BWA services.

Dangger

It would seem that in the main the ODTR welcomes the EU Framework but it still seems to be hung up on an archaic 'use of spectrum' concept e.g. VHF and UHF should only be used for broadcast TV in spite of the fact that this spectrum is ideal for 4G BWA services.

Yup,in our meeting they were concerned at where the line is drawn on a digital television license holder becoming a telecoms operator etc. Technology neutral licensing was mentioned as the fix.

vinnyfitz

Good point Cablesceptic however we should note that the only doc the regulator has been consulting on so far is the authorisation element - which does not appear to include the power to mandate flatrate which M O'Rourke spoke of yesterday in the Dail.

The power to mandate flatrate must be in one of the other elements in the package of EU legislation.

The link is here http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/telecoms/regulatory/new_rf/index_en.htm

Any volunteers to play spot the flatrate mandating power in these texts?

dahamsta

Any volunteers to play spot the flatrate mandating power in these texts?

NOTE: It doesn't specifically /need/ to mention flat-rate, which is why it may hard to find (if it is there). For example, as far as I can see, under the current legislation if the Regulator was in a position to mandate, for example, bitstream DSL, she would also be in a position to mandate flat-rate. Her argument is that she cannot mandate anything (in this field), unless there is a complaint or discrimination (where the incumbent tries to release a retail product without a relevant wholesale product).

However, she has also said that she is allowed step in when she believes that negotiations are not progressing. Esat told IrelandOffline recently that negotiations "have never technically stopped" and that Eircom "have consistently frustrated them". So the question that needs to be asked now is whether or not the Regulator was aware of these negotiations, and if not, why not? Granted, Esat should most definitely have complained a long time ago if this is the case, but shouldn't the Regulator be aware of what is happening in the marketplace?

Is she perhaps unable to cope with the cloak-and-dagger behaviour of Irish comms operators? If this is the case, perhaps it might be best if she relinquished her guaranteed seat on the new Commission, and allowed it to be taken by someone who would, for example, have sent out a press release explaining the issues surrounding the Communications Bill yesterday? Wouldn't this have been slightly more constructive than the bitstream and LLU backslapping a couple of days previous?

That's not to say they don't deserve it, and I have offered my congratulations to the Regulator and her staff for the sterling work on resolving these issues. But the consistent misinformation and gloss on competitiveness in the Irish telecommunications marketplace tends to grind my sensibilities. If there was competition in the marketplace, I wouldn't be here. It we had a proactive Regulator, instead of one that believes that competition can be created from the ether, I would be happily campaiging on price, not the simple non existance of competitive products.

adam

spongebob

Hi

I am afraid to try to translate Euro Speak into English!

How about section 7 of what was passed, the 'affordability' section.

Can it not be argued in simple English that

Fixed cost (Flat Rate) is known and affordable because you know the price when you sign up and can Prejudge if is affordable or not

Variable cost is not 'affordable' because you pay for usage after the fact when you may not 'realise' how much you had used it in a given 2 month billing period. Up to €1500 according to Jim Higgins in the Dáil....non?

This principle informs all credit agreements in order that they be valid, you cannot sign up for a car on the never never with an open ended commitment to paying whatever the finance company wants, Eircom in providing only variable rate access is in breach of the spirit which informs normal credit agreements!

I'd rather try to mangle plain english into a malleable policy than to interpret Euro Gobble!

Dangger

How about in CHAPTER III
USER AND CONSUMER INTERESTS AND RIGHTS, of the universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services documents?

Article 16 Point 3

Where as a result of a market analysis carried out in accordance with Article 14(3) of the Directive [on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services], national regulatory authorities determine that a market is not
effectively competitive, they shall ensure that undertakings with significant market power in that market orient their tariffs towards costs, so as not to charge excessive prices or inhibit market entry, or restrict competition by setting predatory prices,
showing undue preference to specific users or unreasonably bundling services. National regulatory authorities may apply appropriate retail price cap measures to such undertakings in order to protect user and consumer interests whilst promoting
effective competition.

vinnyfitz

I agree Dangger - you'll see earlier on in the same Directive that it is up to each Member State to decide what is "affordable". As dhamsta predicted the term flatrate does not seem to be used anywhere so I'm still not convinced by MO'R's argument in the Dail that the Directive "would go further than the Flat rate mandate amendment from FG would have.

There are serious questions to answer here. If the Dept knew the EU Commission were going to force this one on them anyway as was claimed in the Dail yesterday, and if Forfas had been urging them for over a month to stitch the provision into the Bill - why did they not do it?

Why prolong the agony if you are planning to beef up flat rate mandating powers anyway?

spongebob

There wil be a statutory duty on the Regulatory Commission to have regard for affordability anyway, whatever happens in Europe.

The new Euro rules should be law by Feb02+15 months at the latest meaning May03.

Lets focus on 'Affordable' and its relationship with 'Fixed' and link it into the existing corpus of Consumer Law and credit agreements. BTW I also think that Eircom are immoral in that 15nn (premium numbers) are turned on everywhere by default where in the UK they are off by default and you must ask for a PIN number before you can ring premium numbers....been like that for 10 years.

Thats is an unconscionable invitation to damage the pocket if ever I heard of one.

The one common factor between the lack of fixed rate and the inability to dial 15nn numbers unasked is that Eircom extend you credit in order that you may do so.

One way of making this awkward for Eircom is to get people to ring Eircom and

1. Ask what their credit limit is ...in writing of course.
2. Ask who turned on Premium number access without prior agreement...in writing of course

Contact the Director of Consumer Affairs with the answer.

M

spongebob

Dearie Me

The

inability to dial 15nn numbers

should be

ability to dial 15nn numbers

in the previous post.

Mountjoy Mugger

Originally posted by Muck
1. Ask what their credit limit is ...in writing of course.

Hmm... that's news to me. Customers have a credit limit with Eircom??

spongebob

Eircom extends credit, thats what a post paid bill is

What is the limit?

£5000 a month I was told once when discussing billing issues in telecoms.

I never asked for such a limit, I do not want it, how do I reduce it to what I am prepared to pay!

M

vinnyfitz

If you are prepared to read and analyse the Directives and add relevant input please post here.
I reckon IOFFL really needs to get its head around this stuff.
If this is not what you want to discuss please post elsewhere.

spongebob

Hi

There is a directive on Local Loop Unbundling together with a deadline for its implementation which has already passed.

Precisely what good is it to me whether I understand it or not.

I prefer to focus on what we have which is an admittedly nebulous committment to 'affordability'

Caller ID presentation, now taken for granted, came about because of an EU data protection directive from around 1992, we got it in late 1998.

M

mdf

The LLU one is a Regulation not a directive so there is no transposition.

There are a number of new directives which collectively are the new framework and need to be transposed by mid 2003

spongebob

Yo

I found this one page explaining the overall process and rationale behind the systemisation of regulatory frameworks on an EU wide basis.

Oftel in the UK published it.

I am personally interested in the USD or Universal Services Directive and would be prepared to provide a commentary with links on what I believe are key aspects of this document....with reference to what we already have.

The Framework or 'set' of directives are like a common constitution for All Telecoms Regulators in the EU (NRAs in EU speak)

Some extracts

Preamble, Item 6 'Affordability for individual consumers is related to their ability to monitor and control their expenditure'

Article 4.2 Data rates must be 'sufficent to permit internet access' on dial up ...this section does not appear to allow for always on connections. We are currently entitled to 2400kbps in the 1999 USO on Eircon but ISTR that it is imposssible to have an internet connection (with Hardware handshaking between modems) at less that 9600kbps. Preamble Item 5 also excludes ISDN from this obligation and mentions a line 'clearly insufficient to support satisfactory internet access' which is a broader definition than that in Article 4

Article 10 seems to mandate FRIACO in that the set of obligations detailed in article 4 (earlier) and detailed in Annex 1 (later) must also be provided in such a manner that 'consumers can monitor and control expenditure'

Annex 1 then refers to Pre-Payment which I would see as FRIACO with advance billing in section d. Section b refers to selective outbound call barring to which I referred on friday, this would mean the ability to bar premium number calls which is unavailable now so I was on the right track there.

Article 27 deals with Leased Lines. I think that an always on service of ANY sort is seen as a leased line in this directive. Article 27.3 provides that the commission may decide what 'technical standards' these leased lines adhere to , from time to time, and that this minimum set of standards which fall under the category of 'leased line' must have regard to 'new technical developments and to changes in market demand' Preamble points 18 and 19 flesh this out a bit. Annex 5 makes it clear that the 'technical standards' are to be the subject of ongoing review and that 'social and market developments' must be taken into account and the risk of 'social exclusion' when these reviews take place at commission level.

The stuff is surprisingly readable, the PDF contains 48 pages, being.

Pages 1 - 6 Overview and simple explanation.
Pages 7 - 15 Preamble, I referred to 2 points, these are general and should be read with the article that lays the law down rather than in themselves.
Pages 15-39 The articles and annexes to which I refer.
Pages 40-48 Who and what is affected, waffle really followed by a list of 'parties' Telcos/Manufacturers/NRA's

vinnyfitz

Muck wrote: "Article 4.2 'Data rates must be sufficient to permit internet access' on dial up ...this section does not appear to allow for always on connections. We are currently entitled to 2400kbps in the 1999 USO on Eircon but ISTR that it is imposssible to have an internet connection (with Hardware handshaking between modems) at less that 9600kbps. "

Sorry but for a non-techie can you explain why this 2nd sentence implies they mean dial up rather than flat rate?

The full text of the clause in the Directive reads:

"The connection provided shall be capable of allowing end users make and receive local, national and international telephone calls, facsimile communications and data communications at data rates that are sufficent to permit functional internet access taking into account prevailing technologies used by the majority of subscribers and technological feasibility."

Thanks

spongebob

Yo

Read preamble 5 a nd 6 and then Article 4.

Preamble 5 (especially) states the basic service entitlement and that ISDN is not such a service entitlement.

That means that the entitlement is a POTS line, or bog standard analogue line.

Article 4 states what a POTS line MUST DO!!!!
The internet bit comes at the end.

I then noted the current state of play which is in the Eircom Universal Service Obligation from early 1999, entitling us to speed of a whopping 2400 over an Eircom line.

I said I did not think that an Internet connection , being a CTS/RTS enabled Handshake between 2 modems , would work at less than 9600 baud.

There is further stuff in quotes about what a POTS line should do.

Then we come to Article 10 , affordability ...of what can be done on a POTS line.

There is nothing about FRIACO per se unless you read

Preamble 5 and 6
Articles 4 and 10

Together, noting my quotes from them in single brackets. FRIACO is a way to control costs transparently,make a POTS line affordable, and to avoid social exclusion by doing so.

I am unsure as to whether businesses are entitled to FRIACO but I believe the consumer most certainly is.

M

vinnyfitz

Thanks Muck
Sorry I'm so slow.

spongebob

The Oftel page refers to 5 directives which collectively make up the framework.

I dissected one of them, with reference to IoffL's raison d'etre.

There are 5 according to the Oftel overview

Could someone else reading this please comment on my understanding of the Eurospeak 'transposition'

My understanding is that a directive is incorporated into the law of each EU member country 'as is', article for article and that it does not require that it be rewritten into a communications bill which then becomes an act if passed by the Dáil.

Comments?

M

mdf

A directive has to be transposed into a Statutory Instrument which then is Irish law. A Regulation has direct and immediate effect and does not require transposition

spongebob

Is it therefore fair to say!


LLU is law because it was a regulation....a lot of good that did us.

The Regulatory framework is not yet law because

1. It requires a Statutory Instrument...from which minister one wonders?

BUT

2. The regulatory framework also impinges on existing laws such as the Communications Act just passed and on data Protection law.

3. In a country such as Ireland with precedent based law it also seems to impinge on consumer law and social security law (as in provision of telecoms for the elderly) and social 'entitlement'.

In view of the wide effect of the framework on points 2 and 3 is a simple statutory instrument enough or is there an aditional requirement for the government to trawl thru the affected existing statute law in points 2 and 3 and to provide a sort of impact statement as to what effect the statutory instrument will have. It will overturn certain statute law.

Is there a formal name for this kind of impact statement?

M