States fail to transpose new EU telecoms rules
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(BRUSSELS) - The EU Commission started legal action Thursday against 24 Member States for failing to enact a new EU telecoms directive which regulates and reforms electronic communications networks and services.
The European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) includes measures to enhance consumers' choices and rights, for example by ensuring clearer contracts, quality of services, and competitive markets.
The Code also ensures higher standards of communication services, including more efficient and accessible emergency communications. It allows operators to benefit from rules incentivising investments in very-high capacity networks, as well as from enhanced regulatory predictability, leading to more innovative digital services and infrastructures.
Member states had until 21 December 2020 to adapt their existing telecommunications regulations in accordance with the EECC.
But only 3 Member States, Greece, Hungary and Finland, notified to the Commission that they adopted all necessary measures for transposing the Directive, thus declaring their transposition complete.
The EU executive accordingly sent letters of formal notice to Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Sweden, requesting them to adopt and notify the relevant measures. The Member States have two months to reply.