§ Mr. Ivan LewisTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what decisions were taken at the EU Ministerial Council on Telecommunications on 1 December; and what matters were voted upon. [20240]
§ Mrs. RocheI represented the UK at the Telecommunications Council held in Brussels on 1 December.
The Council reached unanimous agreement on a multi-annual programme to stimulate the establishment of the information society in Europe (Stimulis). There was 526W political agreement to adoption shortly of a common position on a directive, amending directive 97/33/EC on interconnection in telecommunications, concerning number portability and carrier pre-selection. The Council also unanimously adopted, without discussion, a directive on the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector. There was also a televised debate on internet issues.
Following European Commission presentations, the Council adopted conclusions on two Commission Communications: on the further development of mobile and wireless communications in Europe (universal mobile telecommunications system); and on digital signatures and encryption in electronic communication. The Commission also made oral presentations on a Communication on implementation by Member States of Community legislation in the telecommunications sector, and on the forthcoming Commission Green Paper on convergence in broadcasting, telecommunications and information technology. The Council took note of a progress report on negotiations on a draft directive on terminal equipment.
I raised the problem of the century date change for computer systems and presented a paper on the subject.