European Union member states are not convinced by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi’s suggestions to deregulate the telecom sector, according to a working document dated Monday (16 September).
A compromise document by the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, dated 18 September, tries to reconcile member states’ hesitance towards deregulation with the eagerness of the two former Italian prime ministers to deregulate the market, both published in 2024.
Yet the working document shows that the Hungarian reconciliation bid did not come from a request by member states. On the contrary, member states’ written answers to the Hungarian draft conclusions published on 21 August openly criticise the three reports of Letta, Draghi, and the Commission supporting the deregulation of the sector.
“The [Commission’s white paper] wrongly suggests that the current level of competition is an obstacle” for growth by telecom operators and for achieving the EU’s 2030 digital targets, wrote the Netherlands.
Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, and Sweden similarly suggested that Hungarians strengthen the paragraph criticising deregulation.
“The Letta report is not an exhaustive analysis of the market,” wrote Sweden, while Luxembourg, Poland, and the Netherlands proposed scrutinising Draghi’s report, in line with the earlier Hungarian suggestion to review Letta’s report.
Notably, Draghi’s report had not yet been published when the first draft of the council conclusions were shared with member states.
Czechia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands even called on Hungary to strengthen their call for the Commission to conduct a solid impact assessment of the EU telecoms market before suggesting any regulatory changes.
France asked for an explanation of which companies could become so-called “European champions” in the telecom sector.
Germany told the Hungarians that removing regulatory red tape can help attract investment in telecom networks.
Contrary to these comments, the Hungarian compromise text reads that consolidation “could foster investment and thus open up further opportunities for growth and innovation” in telecoms.
Therefore, it is highly likely that Hungarians will face criticism at the next telecom Council working party on 24 September.
Subsea cables, security
Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Malta, and Poland suggested removing a mention for the Commission to develop a legislative proposal on submarine cables, with Sweden also suggesting to tone down the phrasing. The Hungarians, therefore, deleted this mention in the compromise text.
The contributions of Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and Sweden explicitly mention that spectrum management falls within the competence of member states, which the Hungarians added to the compromise text. Luxembourg added that spectrum management should respect the principles of net neutrality.
Hungary included a line referencing “cross-border interference from third countries,” seemingly based on Poland’s written answer.
Reports from the Commission’s radio spectrum program show that Eastern European countries bordering Russia regularly experience interference with 700MHz and 3.6GHz bandwidths.
Poland, the Baltic States, and Sweden also experienced severe GPS signal jamming in December 2023 and January 2024 due to alleged Russian electronic warfare systems testing in Kaliningrad.
Environmental considerations
Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, and Luxembourg suggested improvements to the Hungarian draft regarding the environmental sustainability of telecom infrastructures.
The Hungarian compromise document contains sentences stating that “fibre roll-out should not remain the only tool for decarbonising the digital sector,” which stems from a French request.
The added sentence calling upon the Commission to consider “a target on green digitalisation” for the review of 2030’s digital decade programme stems from the Danish contribution.
A long list of EU countries asked to soften the “copper switch-off” wording, which would update old network infrastructure. They included Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Germany, Latvia and Slovenia, and Hungary heeded the request.
Investment and consumer welfare
According to the working document, several member states mentioned during the 5 September telecom Council working group that the wording on public investment should “not precede the [EU budget] negotiations,” which should start around mid-2025.
Denmark, Finland, Germany, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden still sent written comments to Hungarians calling for this.
Germany and Slovenia suggested that Hungary adds a reference to universal service provision, which is now in the compromise document.
Abstentions
According to the document seen by Euractiv, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain did not send written answers to the Hungarians. Croatia’s written answer is not mentioned because it only includes one comment.
The document seen by Euractiv does not include oral contributions from the last telecom Council working party on 5 September, which Hungarians might have considered during their drafting session.
The Hungarian position is not mentioned because, as president of the Council, the country abstains from sharing its own views.
[Edited by Eliza Gkritsi/Alice Taylor-Braçe]