Single Market concerns

The Single Market Act II had been anticipated by the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council (of ministers) of the EU. We have presented their contributions in various blog entries, some of them found in the compilation Single Market Act blog posts.  

Here we look at one more contribution, this from the European Commission.

Citizens’ and businesses’ 20 main concerns

In 2011 the European Commission published The Single Market through the lens of the people: A snapshot of citizens’ and businesses’ 20 main concerns (27 pages), an analysis made of queries and complaints handled by the Commission and assistance services such as SOLVIT, Your Europe Advice, the European Consumer Centres, the European Employment Service and the Enterprise Europe Network, then checked with statistically representative data and refined through focus groups.

This was one of the contributions going into the making of the Single Market Act II.

Problems for mobile citizens

• Cumbersome social security procedures discourage citizens’ mobility
• Citizens receiving healthcare abroad are often frustrated when receiving the bill
• Obtaining a residence card in another Member State for non-EU family members is too complex
• Professionals have difficulties getting their qualifications recognised in another Member State
• Workers can be victims of discriminatory employment practices in another Member State
• Tax barriers för cross-border workers and employers
• Opening a bank account abroad remains too difficult
• Students facing discrimination regarding recognition of diplomas, fees, and financial support
• Retiring abroad and inheriting across borders leads to complex taxation issues
• Taking a car to another Member State is costly and burdensome
• Passengers find it difficult to defend their rights

Problems for consumers

• Consumers do not easily find their way in banking and financial services markets
• Europeans do not feel comfortable shopping on-line in other Member States
• In spite of an increased choice, many Europeans are frustrated by their energy bills
• Internet and telephone services could be better and cheaper

Problems for businesses

• Businesses are discouraged from participating in foreign public tenders
• Access to finance and support measures is too challenging
• Burdensome rules and procedures prevent entrepreneurs and investors from doing business in another country
• Reclaiming VAT paid in another Member State is cumbersome
• Fighting for your intellectual property rights in a cross-border context remains very difficult

The brochure ended by referring EU citizens and businesses encountering problems to the Your Europe web pages and by describing the help and information services available (pages 26-27):

SOLVIT – a network created in 2002 to solve cross-border problems encountered by citizens and businesses due to incorrect application of EU rules by national public authorities, without formal procedures and within ten weeks. In 2010 SOLVIT handled almost 3 800 cases, of which 1 363 fell within its remit;

Your Europe Advice (YEA) – a network of experienced multilingual lawyers from all EU Member States who provide answers to European citizens’ legal questions regarding the exercise of their EU rights in cross-border mobility situations. In 2010, YEA experts handled more than 12 000 queries;

Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) – a network created to provide European businesses with transnational business cooperation, to benefit from the Single Market and to provide their feedback to legislation (SME panels). The network is made up of 600 support service organisations involving more than 3 000 staff in 50 countries;

European Consumer Centres (ECCs) – a network created to provide consumers with information and help in dispute resolution, to enable them to take full advantage of the Single Market, in particular with regard to cross-border issues. The European Consumer Centres network handles over 70 000 cases every year;

Europe Direct Contact Centre (EDCC) – the European Commission’s multilingual central information service, accessible by free-phone, email or web-chat, which provides answers to questions from the public concerning general information on the European Union’s activities and policies, and guides citizens to the sources of information and advice that best meet their needs. Out of 100 000 enquiries handled overall in 2010, about 30 000 were related to cross-border issues and 5 200 were transferred to the legal experts of Your Europe Advice for further assistance;

European Employment Service (EURES) – a network of more than 850 employment advisors who help match jobs to jobseekers across Europe.

Ralf Grahn

General sources:

General Report on the Activities of the European Union 2011 (freely downloadable at the EU Bookshop in all the official EU languages)

General Report on the Activities of the European Union - 2012 (free to download at the EU Bookshop in all the official EU languages)

Regeringens skrivelse 2011/12:105 Berättelse om verksamheten i Europeiska unionen under 2011

Regeringens skrivelse 2012/13:80 Berättelse om verksamheten i Europeiska unionen under 2012

A single market to consumers and citizens (2010) continued

The United Kingdom used to project itself as a champion of the EU single market, but if you take a closer look, you are about to detect a paradox.   

If you compare what the European Parliament said in May 2010 about lowering and eliminating barriers in the internal market, with what the UK prime minister Theresa May said on 17 January 2017 about her government’s priorities to create new obstacles to the four freedoms of movement, depriving British and other EU citizens of rights, it offers you a certain perspective on the United Kingdom’s incompatibility with single market aspirations.

Sadly, bad examples are catching. Even some government ministers in EU member states have started to sound like English tabloids with their calls to roll back EU achievements for citizens.

Resolution P7_TA(2010)0186

After a short introductory blog post, we return to the European Parliament resolution of 20 May 2010 on delivering a single market to consumers and citizens P7_TA(2010)0186, which underlined (11):

that the relaunch of the single market should achieve concrete, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed targets, which must be achieved by proper and effective policy instruments based on the four freedoms of movement that are available to all EU citizens;

The European Parliament also highlighted (12):  

the fact that the single European market is in dire need of a new momentum, and that strong leadership from European institutions, especially the Commission, and political ownership by the Member States is required to restore credibility and confidence in the single market;

In addition, the European Parliament called for (18):

a new paradigm of political thinking, focusing on citizens, consumers and SMEs in the relaunch of the European single market; holds the view that this can be achieved by putting European citizen at the heart of European Union policy making;

Citizens would have to be better informed about their rights, the European Parliament called (65):

on the Commission and the Member States to develop a targeted communication strategy focusing on the day-to-day problems that citizens encounter when settling and taking up employment in another Member State, especially when undertaking cross-border transactions moving, shopping or selling across borders, and the social, health, consumer-protection and environmental-protection standards on which they can rely; considers that this communication strategy should expressly include problem-solving methods such as SOLVIT;

Single Market Act

The resolution had already mentioned the Small Business Act (SBA) a few times, before it introduced the concept Single Market Act, accompanied by reform values and guidelines:

76. Believes that in order to establish an effective single market, the Commission must produce a clear set of political priorities through the adoption of a ‘Single Market Act’, which should cover both legislative and non-legislative initiatives, aimed at creating a highly competitive social market and green economy;

77. Encourages the Commission to present the ‘Act’ by May 2011–- well ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Single Market Programme – putting citizens, consumers and SMEs at the heart of the single market; emphasises that it should be looked upon as a blueprint for future action if we are to achieve a knowledge-based, highly competitive, social and environmentally friendly, green market economy which also ensures a credible level playing field;

78. Calls on the Commission to incorporate in the ‘Single Market Act’ specific measures aimed at, but not limited to: - putting the consumer interests referred to in Article 12 TFEU and social policy based on Article 9 TEFU at the heart of the single market; - making the single market fit for the future by improving consumer and SME access to e-commerce and digital markets; - supporting the creation of a sustainable single market based on Article 11 TFEU through the development of an inclusive, low-carbon, green, knowledge-based economy, including measures to further any innovation in cleaner technologies; - ensuring the protection of services of general economic interest on the basis of Article 14 TFEU and Protocol 26; - creating a strategy for better communication of the social benefits of the single market;

The European Parliament wanted the Commission. in preparing the ‘Single Market Act’, to take into account the various EU institutions’ consultations and reports (EU 2020, Monti, Gonzales and IMCO reports, etc.), and to launch an additional wide-ranging public consultation, with a view to bringing forward a coordinated policy proposal for a more coherent and viable single market (79).

Ralf Grahn

A single market to consumers and citizens (2010) introduced

The latest Grahnlaw blog post concerning the development of the internal market during this decade looked at the report by professor Mario Monti: A new strategy for the single market at the service of Europe’s economy and society (9 May 2010; 107 pages).

Consumers and citizens

In parallel with Monti’s work the European Parliament prepared an own-initiative report - 2010/2011(INI) -  drafted by Louis Grech (S&D) and approved 3 May 2010 by the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) for the plenary.

The report on delivering a single market to consumers and citizens A7-0132/2010 was debated in the EP plenary on 19 May 2010 together with three other reports - here a summary of the discussion in Swedish - and voted the following day: 578 for, 28 against and 16 abstentions.

Resolution P7_TA(2010)0186

After documenting the relevant internal market policy and assessment papers at the time, the European Parliament resolution of 20 May 2010 on delivering a single market to consumers and citizens P7_TA(2010)0186 reminded readers of the remaining obstacles  in the way of citizens, consumers and SMEs wishing to move, shop, sell or trade across borders with the same sense of security and confidence they enjoy in their own member states.

***

Today, this is a potent reminder of how negligently many national (even European Council and EU Council) politicians treat their duty to promote the EU citizenship right to move and reside freely, as well as the four internal market freedoms: the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital.

Ralf Grahn

EU recommendation on smart metering systems

If we go to the EU Commission web page Energy > Internal market > Smart grids, we find the following enthusiastic text announcing new regulation:

9 March 2012

Preparations for the roll-out of smart metering systems

Commission paves the way for massive roll-out of smart metering systems. When consumers can follow their energy consumption in real time they can better control their energy bills. Smart metering systems will make this possible. Today only 10% of EU households have some sort of smart meter installed. Where economically worthwhile, 80% of all electricity meters in the EU have to be replaced by smart meters by 2020. To facilitate the take-up of this new technology the European Commission has published today a Recommendation to prepare the roll-out of smart-metering systems. It provides step-by-step guidelines for Member States on how to conduct cost-benefit analysis by 3 September 2012. It also sets common minimum functionalities of smart metering systems and addresses data protection and security issues.

Background information is also offered on the web page of the Digital Agenda for Europe: Action 73: Member States to agree common additional functionalities for smart meters Member States to agree by the end of 2011 on common additional functionalities for smart meters (advanced measuring devices, usually for electricity).


Official publication

The recommendation has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union:

COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 2012/148/EU of 9 March 2012 on preparations for the roll-out of smart metering systems; OJEU 13.3.2012 L 73/9

The Commission recommendation deals with different issues in the separate sections:


I. DATA PROTECTION AND SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS

1. This section provides guidance to Member States on the design and operation of smart grids and smart metering systems ensuring the fundamental right to protection of personal data.

2. This section also provides guidance on measures to be taken for the deployment of smart metering applications in order to ensure that national legislation implementing Directive 95/46/EC is, where applicable, respected when such technologies are deployed.


II. METHODOLOGY FOR THE ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE LONG-TERM COSTS AND BENEFITS FOR THE ROLL-OUT OF SMART METERING SYSTEMS

30. This section provides guidance to Member States along with a framework for cost-benefit analysis as a foundation for conducting a consistent, credible and transparent economic assessment of the long-term costs and benefits of the roll-out of smart metering.


III. COMMON MINIMUM FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SMART METERING SYSTEMS FOR ELECTRICITY

39. This section is based on best practice from early CBAs for smart metering of electricity carried out in 11 Member States. It provides guidance on measures to be taken to ensure that Member States make due use of appropriate interoperability and standards for smart metering systems currently being developed under Mandates M/441, M/468 and M/490 and of best practice.



Ralf Grahn
public speaker on EU affairs

P.S. Already multilingual Bloggingportal.eu aggregates the posts from 940 Euroblogs. They represent an important part of the emerging European online public space, discussion across national and linguistic borders. One of the most promising fresh entrants is the LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) blog, where Ronny Patz recently wrote about the EU blogosphere and called for more academics to spread the word about their research and to discuss their findings closer to real life.

Among the Euroblogs on Bloggingportal.eu you find my current blog trio, Grahnlaw (recently ranked fourth among political blogs in Finland), the Nordic Grahnblawg (written in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (meaning European Law, in Finnish). I write and speak about democracy, institutional issues and EU politics, but increasingly about the challenges of growth (EU2020) and the (digital) single market in the making, including issues at policy level.

Is the EU getting its Single Market Act together?

Yesterday, we noted how strongly the president of the European Council [ @euHvR on Twitter ] underlined the importance of the internal market: Herman Van Rompuy: ”The Internal Market is the EU's biggest asset”.

Today, we take a short tour of relevant materials. Some of it may shed additional light on why the internal market is important for businesses and citizens.


Single Market Act

Some may want to get to know all EU legislation on the internal market (part of the union acquis), while others may be more interested in detailed information about the proposed internal market reforms. The reform minded can navigate to the Commission web pages about the Single Market Act.

The document of reference is the communication from the European Commission. On Eur-Lex you find the language version you want among the 22 on offer for the Commission proposal.

For the English version I chose the direct link to the corrected text, available through the Single Market Act web page, although in the end it was about just a single word:

Towards a Single Market Act - For a highly competitive social market economy - 50 proposals for improving our work, business and exchanges with one another; Brussels, 11.11.2010 COM(2010) 608 final/2 (about 45 pages)


Competitiveness Council

The 3057th Competititiveness (Internal Market, Industry, Research and Space) Council meeting, Brussels 10 December 2010, produced initial reactions from the member state governments in the form of:

Conclusions on the Single Market Act



Internal market blog posts

Here are links to a number of my earlier, but not all too distant blog posts concerning the internal market.

EU Commission: Internal market reform (9 December 2010)

EU Single Market Act: Disappointing start? (10 December 2010)

(In Finnish) Saako kelkasta pudonnut Eurooppa sisämarkkinat heräämään? (12 December 2010)

(In Finnish) EU:n sisämarkkinoiden toimenpidepaketti (Single Market Act) (12 December 2010)

(In Finnish) EU:n 'Single Market Act' on käännösongelma (13 December 2010)

EU Single Market Act varia (13 December 2010)

EU Competitiveness Council on Single Market Act (14 December 2010)

(In Finnish) Onko EU:ssa yhtenäismarkkinat vai sisämarkkinat? (15 December 2010)


EEA: 506 million consumers

Just as a reminder: Even if we speak about the EU's internal market (or single market), these issues are relevant to the whole European Economic Area. The EEA comprises the 27 EU member states as well as three of the EFTA states, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. This adds up to a home market (of sorts) of about 506 million consumers in all.

No mean feet, said the centipede.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Fleishman-Hillard's second European Parliament Digital Trends Survey describes how Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) use the web. You can follow #epdigitrends on Twitter.

P.S. 2: You can follow me on Facebook and on Twitter @RalfGrahn, in addition to my blogs: Grahnlaw (in English), Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (in Finnish), as well as the trilingual Grahnlaw Suomi Finland.

EU Stockholm Programme Action Plan: European judicial culture needed?

According to the final draft agenda for the Strasbourg session 22 to 25 November 2010, Monday 22 November the European Parliament plenary is going to discuss the Action Plan Implementing the Stockholm Programme and on Tuesday 23 November the EP is going to vote (pages 3 and 9).

In the background we have the five year strategic guidelines adopted by the European Council in December 2009, with the definitive version published in the Official Journal of the European Union in May (OJEU 4.5.2010 C 115/1):

The Stockholm Programme — An open and secure Europe serving and protecting citizens

Based on the guidelines, we have the action plan to implement the strategic guidelines, proposed by the European Commission in April:

Communication from the Commission: Delivering an area of freedom, security and justice for Europe's citizens - Action Plan Implementing the Stockholm Programme; Brussels, 20.4.2010 COM(2010) 171 final

We also know that the Commission's monitoring system PreLex loses the traces of the action plan after the sour conclusions by the JHA Council 3 June 2010.

Before the Stockholm Programme was adopted, the European Parliament tried to make its voice heard a year ago, when it voted a resolution:

European Parliament resolution of 25 November 2009 on the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – An area of freedom, security and justice serving the citizen – Stockholm programme; P7_TA(2009)0090 (procedure 2009/2534(RSP) )

(Yesterday I presented a few extracts of the 25 November 2009 EP resolution relevant to citizens and enterprises, in Finnish on my trilingual blog Grahnlaw Suomi Finland.)


Citizens and businesses

This time around the European Parliament decided to take a closer look at legal issues relevant to EU citizens and businesses active across borders, in an own-initiative report:

Report on civil law, commercial law, family law and private international law aspects of the Action Plan Implementing the Stockholm Programme; A7-0252/2010, 24.9.2010 Committee on Legal Affairs, Rapporteur: Luigi Berlinguer (procedure 2010/2080(INI) ) (20 pages)


European judicial culture

Even if the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) congratulates the Commission on its ambitious proposed action plan, the report calls for reflection on the future of the area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ).

Interestingly, the JURI committee takes a very long term view. The beginning of the report is heavily laden with suggestions for discussions and exchanges with judges and practitioners, representatives of legal education and training etc. in order to nurture a European judicial culture.

Later the report discusses proposed actions with more immediate impact on mobile citizens, cross-border consumers and companies active in the internal market, but it may be more opportune to treat these initiatives in the context of the latest policy statements and proposals from the Commission, first collectively and later individually.



Ralf Grahn



J.K. After a long silence the EU Law Blog has returned to the European legal blogging scene. The blog declares: This is a web log about European Union law for students, academics, practitioners and anyone else who may be interested in it. - I hope you are interested and that the EU Law Blog keeps up the good work.

How silly can it get? Consumers facing telecoms markets in EU

After presenting the Digital Agenda for Europe, first reactions to the Digital Agenda and the EU progress report on the single European electronic communications market at a general level, now for a concrete example of how 27 fragmented national telecoms markets affect businesses, consumers and public affairs in real life in the European Union.


The conclusion is: How silly can it get?




One of the most prolific eurobloggers is Henrik Alexandersson, who works in the European Parliament for the Pirate MEP Christian Engström (Green group).


Alexandersson’s usual place of work is the EP in Brussels, Belgium. Naturally, he travels back to Sweden at times. Like the rest of the MEPs and staff, he has to take part in the monthly migration of the European Parliament to Strasbourg, France.




In his blog post (in Swedish) Hej, jag heter Henrik. Jag är datormissbrukare (roughly: Hello, I’m Henrik. I’m a dataholic; 27 May 2010), Alexandersson starts by wondering at the primitive standards and proprietary software hampering PCs in the EP offices.

Then follows a tragicomic description of the multiple notebooks and wireless dongles forced on Alexandersson by fragmented telecoms markets and incompatible software, plus the horrendous costs of data roaming.

For those who believe that the “common market” was instituted in 1957, the post is illuminating.



If you want to get a sense of the original text, Google translate provided an almost comprehensible version in English. (Ångdator can be understood as “steam age PC”).


Neelie Kroes and her merry men have a real challenge ahead of them, if they want Europe to advance from the Egypt of the steam engine era to the promised land of the information society.




Ralf Grahn

European Digital Agenda 2010-2015

In August 2009 the European Commission published the Communication:



Europe’s Digital Competitiveness Report - Main achievements of the i2010 strategy 2005-2009; Brussels, 4.8.2009 COM(2009) 390 final (12 pages).

The Commission concluded (page 9):

Therefore Europe needs a new digital agenda to meet the emerging challenges, to create a world beating infrastructure and unlock the potential of the internet as a driver of growth and the basis for open innovation, creativity and participation.

Citizens first: 2015.eu agenda


In the European Parliament, Pilar del Castillo Vera (Rapporteur) has prepared an own-initiative draft report dated 15 January 2010 for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE):



Draft report on defining a new Digital Agenda for Europe: from i2010 to digital.eu (14 pages)




The procedure 2009/2225(INI) can be followed on Oeil, the Legislative Observatory of the European Parliament.


The EP report wants to inspire the Commission and the EU member states to concrete actions and results which benefit the citizens of the European Union (page 7):

The policy areas and enabling factors identified in this report form an overall ICT policy framework for the EU over the next five years that the rapporteur proposes to call '2015.eu agenda'. This renewed agenda can be graphically depicted as a virtuous 2015.eu spiral (see Annex). The core of the spiral is the person (both as citizen and as consumer). Each person should be empowered with the appropriate competences and ubiquitous and high-speed access. Citizens also need a clear legal framework that protects their rights and that provides them with the necessary trust and security. This is essential for citizens to enjoy the freedom to access without impediments digital services and content throughout the entire internal market ('fifth freedom'). Finally, knowledge and technologies are indispensable for supporting the competitiveness of our economy and a more prosperous society.

The proposed resolution lists a number of concrete actions to be taken (presented in an easy to read format in the Explanatory statement, from page 7).




Ralf Grahn

European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy

The Commission aims to ensure that a truly efficient and proportionate system of enforcement of intellectual property rights exists, both within and outside the internal market, said the press release of 14 December 2009 (IP/09/1919).



IPRED




Already the European Union already has the directive known as IPRED in place, providing for the (civil) measures, procedures and remedies necessary to ensure the enforcement of intellectual property rights (including industrial property rights):


DIRECTIVE 2004/48/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights


(The corrected version of this text with EEA relevance was published in the Official Journal of the European Union 2.6.2004 L 195/16.)



European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy




However, the European Commission is far from content with progress this far.

Last Spring, the European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy was created to spread the best enforcement techniques to combat infringements of intellectual property rights.

Little public information of substance exists about the Observatory, but it is administered by the Commission’s internal market services and designed to join national public officials as well as representatives of IP rights holders experienced in IPR enforcement (designated as stakeholders).

Despite token consumer representation, citizens, consumers and net users, especially youth, mainly seem to have been cast into the role of receivers of awareness and education campaigns.



This meeting report from the sub-group on the legal framework, by the European Communities Trade Mark Association (ECTA), sheds some light on representation and work within the Observatory. The consumer representative (BEUC) was not present, but the following were represented:

Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP; ICC), Union des Fabricants (Unifab, the French anti-counterfeiting and IPR protection association), Istituto di Centromarca per la lotta alla contrafazzione (Indicam; Italian anti-counterfeiting association), the Motion Picture Association, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the Business Software Alliance (promoting IPR protection for the software industry) and (national) representatives of the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG) Network.


There is nothing wrong in business associations lobbying openly for their interests during the process of creating regulation, but it becomes problematic when one angle – increasing and enforcing monopoly rights - becomes the driving force behind the public EU Commission machinery, which is supposed to shape balanced rules taking all interests into account.

With an input mechanism totally dominated by IPR enforcement interests, there seems to be practically no real voice for citizens, net users or consumers with an interest in the free flow of information.

The same pattern is discernible in legislative initiatives in EU member states such as France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Good public policy should build on the markets as much as on the marketeers.




Ralf Grahn

EU: “Manifold initiatives” for enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR)

The blog post Innovating Europe and the knowledge society (15 January 2010) looked at what the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union held in store for the knowledge society (European Digital Agenda) generally. In a nutshell: positive, but vague.

Now we turn to what the presidency programme tells us more specifically about intellectual property rights:




The Programme for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2010: Innovating Europe (52 pages).



ACTA?


Under the Common Trade Policy, on page 25, Spain makes the following promise:

The Markets Access Strategy will be bolstered and work will be geared to opening Public Tender markets, effective effective observance of intellectual and industrial property rights, and the conclusion of the Trade Agreement against Forgery.

This leaves us with some questions: Does the “Trade Agreement against Forgery” mean the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)? If this is the case, why not use the proper name of the treaty soon being negotiated in a new round in Mexico?



Criminal sanctions


Criminal sanctions are in the pipeline against infringements of intellectual property rights. Under Criminal justice, the following paragraph seems to promise new legislative proposals (page 32):

Protection instruments in the fight against intellectual and industrial property piracy should also be improved.

Internal market?


Under the Domestic Market (probably meaning the internal market) the presidency programme sets out the objective to reinforce IPR protection by “manifold initiatives” (page 35-36) (The Community brand name probably means trademark):

Safeguarding and protecting intellectual and industrial rights will be reinforced at Community level through manifold initiatives in the fight against piracy and forgery. With regard to industrial property, work will continue on the Community brand name file. As to the Community patent and the litigation system for the European patent, a constructive search for efficient and non-discriminatory solutions will be pursued, renewing efforts to improve companies’ management of these rights, particularly by SMEs.

Internet


Better protection of intellectual and industrial property rights are promised on the Internet as well, under Telecommunications (page 38):

Efforts will be put into the approval of the New 2010-2015 Strategy to promote the Information Society (i2010 follow-up). The Presidency will encourage a joint debate with Member States to improve Information Society indicators, as well as the deployment of cutting-edge networks, increased networks security and protection of intellectual and industrial property on the Internet.

Citizens’ rights?


“Manifold initiatives” are in the pipeline to enhance IPR protection in the European Union, with regard to external trade, criminal law, the internal market and the Internet.

The lack of transparency is worrying with regard to ACTA, a resurrected IPRED2 and other future proposals.

Even if the Spanish presidency programme is full of references to human rights and fundamental freedoms, users’ rights in the digital era are exempt, except for the promised debate on broadband access as a universal service obligation (page 38).

There are no guarantees of a fair deal for consumers and citizens against unduly restrictive commercial practices or draconic enforcement measures.




Ralf Grahn




P.S. Stephen Spillane blogs about Irish and European politics. Stephen Spillane is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.

Citizens in the EU Information Society (European Digital Agenda)

The previous Grahnlaw blog post EU: Last call for copyright comments! Consultation closing (30 December 2009) was, in its own humble way, an example of European cross-border networking in the digital age.




Squaring the Net


On Twitter, I noticed a tweet by Fabien Cazenave, which led to a blog post on La Quadrature du Net: Une semaine pour répondre à la Commission européenne sur le futur du droit d’auteur (29 December 2009). Later I realised that there existed an English version of the web site, with the same blog post: A week left to respond to the European Commission on the future of Copyright (even posted a day earlier, on 28 December 2009).




Anyway, without these messages, I would have continued my writing on EU telecoms policies, information society policies and the future European Digital Agenda, arriving at copyright issues well after the closure of the copyright consultation, officially based on Content in a European Digital Single Market: Challenges for the Future ─ A Reflection Document DG INFSO and DG MARKT.


I believe that copyright issues are going to be of crucial importance in the development of the internal market as well as with regard to the European Union’s trade relations with the outside world (e.g. ACTA) in 2010 and the years to come.

I also believe that it is important that all interests, including citizens and consumers, are adequately represented, when the EU shapes its information society policies.




La Quadrature du Net is an active bilingual (French and English) advocacy group promoting the rights and freedoms of citizens on the Internet. It has dossiers on: Net neutrality, ACTA, the Telecoms package and Hadopi (the French law). I even found an English name for the Group: Squaring the Net.


There is too much to digest at one go, but here are a few samples of interesting news and posts:



ACTA: A Global Threat to Freedoms (Open Letter) (Updated 24 December 2009)




Questions for the new European Commissioners (16 December 2009)




Copyright: Towards a recognition of users’ rights at WIPO? (23 December 2009)



Netzpolitik.org



Netzpolitik.org has a similar agenda, in German:

netzpolitik.org ist ein Blog und eine politische Plattform für Freiheit und Offenheit im digitalen Zeitalter.

Pirate Party



The Pirate Party (Swedish: Piratpartiet) is turning into an interesting pan-EU phenomenon, with one elected member of the European Parliament (soon to become two).

Here is the (Swedish) Pirate Party agenda in a nutshell:

The Pirate Party wants to fundamentally reform copyright law, get rid of the patent system, and ensure that citizens' rights to privacy are respected. With this agenda, and only this, we are making a bid for representation in the European and Swedish parliaments.

Numerically small, but growing like a mushroom, the Pirate Party could have the potential to become a real pan-European party, while the traditional Europarties are still tying their shoelaces.


Citizens


The Internet is borderless, but the European Union is an important player concerning the internal market, international trade relations (e.g. ACTA) and international organisations (e.g. WIPO).

No longer can EU member state governments, lobby groups or the European Commission rely on passive and uninterested citizens and consumers to accept the outcomes of deals signed and sealed between diplomats.

Active citizens and networks, together with the European Parliament, have an important role to play in forming a fair and open European information society.




Ralf Grahn



P.S. Read the FT Brussels Blog and other great euroblogs listed on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, our common “village well” for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs

Information society: EU’s i2010 strategy assessed

Launched in 2005, the aims of the EU’s i2010 strategy for information and communications technologies (ICT) were:

• To boost the single market for businesses and users by eliminating regulatory obstacles and enhancing regulatory consistency in the telecoms sector and for audiovisual media services (in particular TV and video-on-demand);

• To stimulate ICT research and innovation in Europe by pooling public and private research funding and focusing it on areas where Europe is or can become a global leader, such as on LTE (long-term evolution) mobile technology, which will revolutionise wireless broadband, or ESC (electronic stability control), which helps prevent car accidents in case of sudden manoeuvres or on slippery roads;

• To ensure that all citizens benefit from Europe’s lead in ICT, in particular through first-class online public services accessible to all; safer, smarter, cleaner and energy-efficient transport and by putting the cultural heritage of the EU at our fingertips by creating the European digital library.

The Commission notes (page 1):

ICT accounts for half of the rise in EU productivity and available high-speed broadband is key to new jobs, new skills, new markets and cutting costs. It is essential to businesses, public services and to making the modern economy work.

After recapitulating some of the more spectacular developments, the Commission gets down to a slightly more nuanced discussion of achievements and continually evolving challenges with regard to the objectives.


From the perspective of consumers and citizens, the “eYou Guide to your rights online” is worth mentioning. The web pages were launched in the spring of 2009, and the information is available in ten languages.


After hailing the progress, the i2010 report ends on a more sombre note (page 9): Europe is at risk of losing its competitive edge when it comes to new, innovative developments. Therefore Europe needs a new digital agenda to meet the emerging challenges. The Commission was about to launch a public consultation on the new digital agenda.


The summary report is useful for interested citizens as well as public administrations, researchers and businesses engaged in electronic communications and information society issues:



Commission: Europe’s Digital Competitiveness Report ─ Main achievements of the i2010 strategy 2005-2009; Brussels 4.8.2009 COM(2009) 390 final (12 pages).



The Digital Competitiveness Report was accompanied by the more detailed working documents SEC(2009) 1060, SEC(2009) 1103 and SEC(2009) 1104, which are of interest to professionals:




Europe's Digital Competitiveness Report - Main achievements of the i2010 strategy 2005-2009; Brussels, 4.8.2009, SEC(2009) 1060 final (27 pages)




Europe's Digital Competitiveness Report Volume 1: i2010 — Annual Information Society Report 2009 Benchmarking i2010: Trends and main achievements; Brussels, 4.8.2009, SEC(2009) 1103 final (112 pages)




Europe's Digital Competitiveness Report Volume 2: i2010 — ICT Country Profiles; Brussels, 4.8.2009, SEC(2009) 1104 final (68 pages)



All in all, the i2010 assessment package offered a valuable basis for the discussions and the consultation aiming at a new digital agenda for the European Union.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. European affairs and dimensions, EU politics and policies: For your convenience, multilingual Bloggingportal.eu already aggregates 495 euroblogs, offering a variety of themes and viewpoints.

European Union’s information society and media policies presented

Knowing the past and the present is key to the future, so we start by taking a look at how the European Commission presents its information society and media policies during the first Barroso Commission.



As an introduction, and as an overview for the general public, the European Commission has produced the glitzy ten page brochure: Creating a Single Competitive, Innovative and Borderless European Telecoms and Media Market for 500 Million Consumers – The achievements of Commission’s Information Society and Media Policies 2004-2009.

The flavour is in the tradition of the former Moscow VDNH – the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy – but in this case, with the huge progress made and the facts to prove it, one can almost forgive the Commission for the tone.

The brochure is a useful summary of significant developments during the last years, where the Commission has been one part of the forces for progress.




Ralf Grahn



P.S. For your convenience, multilingual Bloggingportal.eu already aggregates 495 euroblogs, offering a variety of themes and viewpoints on European politics and policies.

EU Telecoms package: Commission’s declaration on net neutrality

The Wikipedia article Network neutrality offers an overview of the debated goal to achieve net neutrality.



In a speech on the development of new media markets, Viviane Reding, the member of the European Commission responsible for information society, mentioned network neutrality as one of the issues relevant for the coming Digital Agenda of the European Union (1 October 2009):

A further, fourth priority for Europe's Digital Agenda will be in my view to take a deeper look into network neutrality. When the telecoms package enters into force, it will give the European Commission and national regulators new instruments to ensure that the net will be open and neutral in Europe. This is a very important, and often underestimated achievement of the reform, and many European Parliamentarians, but also many ministers deserve the credit for having strengthened the corresponding wording in the package during the legislative process. I would like Europe to make good use of these new tools for enhancing net neutrality. I would therefore like to have, in 2010, a broad debate about how the Commission could best use these new instruments in the interest of an open internet and of internet users. It is true that Europe's telecoms framework, with its pro-competitive approach, has so far been an effective tool for tackling many problems with regard to net neutrality. I have myself indicated that I would be prepared to act on this basis in case of continued blocking of Voice over IP services by certain mobile operators. The new telecoms package is in many instances a quite robust answer to such new threats to net neutrality. However, I also know that technology and regulation will evolve further in the years to come. And I plan to be Europe's first line of defence whenever it comes to real threats to net neutrality. This should be spelt out in more detail in the European Digital Agenda that is scheduled for adoption in March next year.

As a part of the adoption of the European Union’s telecoms reform package, the EU Commission undertook a political obligation to monitor net neutrality closely:


Commission declaration on net neutrality, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 18.12.2009 C 308/2.

‘The Commission attaches high importance to preserving the open and neutral character of the Internet, taking full account of the will of the co-legislators now to enshrine net neutrality as a policy objective and regulatory principle to be promoted by national regulatory authorities ( 1 ), alongside the strengthening of related transparency requirements ( 2 ) and the creation of safeguard powers for national regulatory authorities to prevent the degradation of services and the hindering or slowing down of traffic over public networks ( 3 ). The Commission will monitor closely the implementation of these provisions in the Member States, introducing a particular focus on how the “net freedoms” of European citizens are being safeguarded in its annual Progress Report to the European Parliament and the Council. In the meantime, the Commission will monitor the impact of market and technological developments on “net freedoms” reporting to the European Parliament and the Council before the end of 2010 on whether additional guidance is required, and will invoke its existing competition law powers to deal with any anti-competitive practices that may emerge.’

Footnotes:

( 1 ) Article 1(8)(g) of Directive 2009/140/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 337, 18.12.2009, p. 37).
( 2 ) Article 1(14) of Directive 2009/136/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 337, 18.12.2009, p. 11).
( 3 ) See footnote 2.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. For your convenience, multilingual Bloggingportal.eu already aggregates 495 euroblogs, offering a variety of themes and viewpoints on European politics and policies.

EU Telecoms package: “Citizens’ Rights Directive”

The existing EU regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services comprises five Directives, the Framework Directive and the Specific Directives:

• Framework Directive 2002/21/EC
• Access Directive 2002/19/EC
• Authorisation Directive 2002/20/EC
• Universal Service Directive 2002/22/EC
• Directive on privacy and electronic communications 2002/58/EC




This is how the European Commission set out the reason for amending the two Directives mentioned last, in its proposal 13.11.2007 COM(2007)0698:

The present legislative reform proposal adapts the regulatory framework by strengthening certain consumers’ and users’ rights (in particular with a view to improving accessibility and promoting an inclusive Information Society), and ensuring that electronic communications are trustworthy, secure and reliable and provide a high level of protection for individuals’ privacy and personal data. The proposal does not alter the current scope or concept of universal service in the EU, which will be subject to a separate consultation in 2008. It is in line with the Commission’s Better Regulation Programme, which is designed to ensure that legislative interventions remain proportionate to the political objectives pursued, and forms part of the Commission’s overall strategy to strengthen and complete the internal market.

More specifically, the objectives of the present proposal are two-fold:

1. Strengthening and improving consumer protection and user rights in the electronic communication sector, through — amongst other aspects —giving consumers more information about prices and supply conditions, and facilitating access to and use of e-communications, including emergency services, for disabled users; and

2. Enhancing the protection of individuals’ privacy and personal data in the electronic communications sector, in particular through strengthened security-related provisions and improved enforcement mechanisms.

In the first reading report A6-0318/2008, the European Parliament Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (rapporteur Malcolm Harbour) was generally supportive of the Commission’s proposal, but tabled amendments with regard to a number of issues:

- Clarified the pre contractual information requirements
- Broadened the information and transparency provisions
- Added new provisions for consumers to be given information on their legal obligations in using a service (especially respect of copyright) and the adoption of security safeguards
- Reinforced the service provisions for disabled users
- Made detailed amendments related to “112” emergency number availability and caller location
- Clarified and simplified the quality of service requirements
- More clearly defined the responsibility of National Regulators for day to day market enforcement of consumer rights, removing some of the proposed Commission responsibilities in these areas.
- Removed provisions for support of the “3883” numbering space, for which very limited consumer demand is now foreseen with the evolution of nomadic “Voice over Network” services.

After the customary dance steps between the EP, the Council and the Commission, the proposal became factually ready for adoption, but it had to wait for the conciliation process regarding the whole Telecoms package before formal adoption.



The process can be studied in detail through the Legislative Observatory of the European Parliament, under procedure COD/2007/0248.


Directive 2009/136

The Universal Service Directive 2002/22/EC and the Directive on privacy and electronic communications 2002/58/EC have now been reformed. Regulation 2006/2004 on consumer protection cooperation was also amended:




DIRECTIVE 2009/136/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 25 November 2009 amending Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services, Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws. This text with EEA relevance was published OJEU 18.12.2009 L 337/11.


The EU member states have until 25 May 2011 to transpose the “Citizens’ Rights Directive” into national law.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Read why Julien Frisch recommends Bloggingportal.eu, the multilingual aggregator of euroblogs (18 December 2009).