§ Mr. AllenTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what action was taken or requested at the Council of Telecommunication Ministers meeting in the week beginning 12 June to adopt a declaration limiting the application of the directive on standards of television transmission. [30242]
§ Mr. Ian TaylorNo action was taken at the Telecommunications Council on 13 June in respect of a declaration on the draft directive on television standards.
In the course of that meeting of the Telecommunications Council, Commissioner Bangemann made a brief oral presentation on a number of amendments to the draft directive adopted only that day by the European Parliament. Following a brief discussion in which a number of concerns were voiced by the United Kingdom and Germany, the question of the Council's response to the Parliament's amendments was deferred for further consideration in the Committee of Permanent Representatives.
In the course of a subsequent preliminary meeting at official level, the presidency raised the question of whether UK and German concerns might, separately, be met by way of declaration by the Council, to which the Commission might be associated. These proposals are now being considered by member states, and by the Council legal service.