§ Mr. HoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the outcome was of the Telecommunications Council held in Brussels on 5 December: what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement. [86705]
§ Mr. TimmsI represented the UK at the Telecommunications Council in Brussels on 5 December.
There was a policy debate on the situation in the telecommunications sector in Europe, and the Council adopted conclusions which emphasised the importance of developing content, services and applications for the information society, and the widespread availability and use of broadband networks, using a multi-platform approach as set out in the eEurope 2005 Action Plan. The conclusions also underlined the importance of implementation of the new regulatory framework for electronic communications, and agreed that intervention in the form of state aid was not the way 157W forward. In particular, the Council emphasised the importance of placing the information society and the telecommunications sector high on the agenda of the Spring European Council, and invited the Commission to report on these subjects in due time beforehand and if necessary put forward appropriate proposals.
There was also adoption of two resolutions: one on the implementation (including the benchmarking) of the eEurope Action Plan 2005; and another on promoting a culture of network and information security. Council conclusions were also adopted on eSkills. There was also an agreement on a general approach, without the need for a vote, towards the MODINIS programme which helps fund the implementation of the eEurope Action Plan 2005, and work on network security. Regarding the dti Department of Trade and Industry Commission's proposal for a Directive on the re-use and commercial exploitation of public sector information, the presidency concluded that a common position is likely to be adopted at the March Council following adoption of an opinion by the European Parliament.
The Commission also gave a short presentation on its eighth report on the implementation of the current regulatory framework for telecommunications which reiterated the importance of timely, effective and coherent implementation of the new regulatory framework for electronic communical ions. The Commission also reported progress on its work on open platforms for digital television and 3G mobile, and on electronic identification and authentication systems in e-commerce, on which public hearings are expected in the New Year.
On the reform of ICANN, the private sector company based in the United States that manages the Internet domain name system, the Commission gave an update on the positive progress towards successful reform achieved at the latest ICANN reform negotiations which took place in Shanghai in October.