The Council held a
public orientation debate on a draft regulation on
guidelines for trans-European telecommunications networks and took
note of a presidency progress report.
Ministers focused
their discussions in particular on the criteria to be used for
selection of broadband deployment projects and on the types of
European cross-border digital services infrastructures that could
be supported.
The following
issues, in particular, will require further consideration by
delegations:
(1) Member State
involvement, particularly in relation to the preparatory steps of
project selection and the modification of the description of
projects of common interest.
- Many delegations
stressed that guidelines and projects of common interest, which
relate to the territory of a Member State, shall require the
approval of the Member State concerned.
- Many delegations
were opposed to, or put a reservation against, the Commission's
proposal for it to be empowered to adopt delegated acts to modify
the annex. These delegations argued that, taking into account that
projects of common interest which relate to the territory of a
Member States shall require the approval of the Member State
concerned, the modification of the list of possible projects would
require the full involvement of the Member States. Some delegations
questioned whether and under which conditions implementing acts
would be an appropriate instrument in this regard. Other
delegations argued that an approach with neither delegated acts nor
implementing acts would be preferable.
(2) Role and
status of the proposed expert group.
- Delegations sought
more clarity on the exact role of the Expert Group, for instance
with regard to the drawing up of the annual work programmes.
- Some delegations
questioned the Expert Groups status as an advisory body only with
some delegations looking to extend its capacity to allow a broader
view on telecommunications.
(3) The contents
of the annex to the proposed Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)
regulation.
- Many delegations
appeared to accept the annex as a framework for establishing future
projects but some considered that the text should spell out in more
detail which projects are envisioned and how member states could
get involved in such projects.
- Some delegations
expressed the view that the annex could possibly make it clearer
with regard to projects in the area of broadband infrastructure
which methods of intervention (financial instruments, grants or a
combination thereof) could be available in which geographical areas
(e.g. rural or urban areas, islands, landlocked regions).
- Other delegations
would prefer a more open and flexible approach.
(4) Relations
between the CEF regulation and other financial instruments.
- A large number of
delegations sought clarification on how the actions under the CEF
Regulation and the Telecoms Guidelines would relate to other
financial instruments, such as the Structural and Cohesion
Funds.
- With regard to the
deployment of broadband infrastructure in less developed regions in
particular, delegations questioned where the financing will come
from and in which priority.
There is still a
substantial need for clarification with regard to the
processes envisioned in general for the working of the Connecting
Europe Facility as well as more specific issues relating to e.g.
the list of projects of common interest in the Telecoms Guidelines
annex and the list of pre-identified priorities and areas of
intervention in the CEF Regulation annex.
The EU
funding related to this regulation is to be negotiated in the
context of the CEF financing instrument,
linked to the next multiannual financial framework (2014-2020). The
proposal for the regulation establishing the Connecting Europe
Facility was discussed in greater depth by transport ministers on
the first day of the TTE Council (see above, page 9). The
Commission presented this proposal in June 2011 with the aim of
promoting the completion of priority energy, transport and digital
infrastructures with a single fund of EUR 40 billion, of which EUR
9.2 billion are allocated to broadband networks and digital service
infrastructures.