EU Warns Countries Over Failing To Apply Telecom Rules

BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Commission Tuesday sent formal warnings to more than a dozen countries for breaking European Union telecommunications rules.

The warnings apply to infringements ranging from insufficient emergency lines to failing to allow mobile phone number portability.

Eleven countries do not have emergency telephone lines. These include in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovakia.

Belgium and Poland received legal warnings for failing to conduct reviews of the electronic communications markets, including e-mail, required under E.U. telecommunications rules. "These reviews are needed to ascertain whether telecoms markets are effectively competitive," the Commission said.

Slovenia also was given a legal warning because number portability - keeping your number when changing operators - is still not fully available.

Another area that concerns E.U. regulators is the universal service in the telecom sector. These rules guarantee basic services for consumers such as connection and telephone services at a fixed location, public pay phones, directory services and, where appropriate, measures for disabled users with minimum levels of availability and affordability. But regulators worry that governments only designate the former, usually state-owned incumbent, as providing such a service.

In July 2005, the Commission warned Hungary, Finland and France. The Commission Tuesday decided to close the infringement proceedings against Hungary, after Budapest gave assurances that individual universal service requirements could be provided by different operators.

But the Commission said it will continue to monitor implementation of these rules in Hungary very closely.

Finland also has promised its laws will be changed to take account of the Commission's concerns about universal service.

This leaves the case of France, where the Commission has decided this week to send a legal warning because French law continues to restrict designation as supplier of the universal service.

-By William Echikson,Dow Jones Newswires;32-2-741-1480; william.echikson@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires "

Posted to the site on 4th April 2006