Bad News for European Super-Regulator Plans

Plan's by the EU's telecoms commissioner, Viviane Reding to create a super regulator for Europe seems to have been dealt a blow after a paper crisiting the proposal was drafted by Pilar del Castillo, a Spanish conservative MEP.

The paper, a copy of which has been seen by the Financial Times says that the plan adds unnecessary red-rape and would be too remote from the local markets it seeks to regulate. The paper is particularly damaging and the author is the MEP charged with steering Mrs RedingĂ's plans through the EU parliament.

Mrs Castillo writes that, since national conditions differ, a "one-size-fits all approach" is inappropriate. "Furthermore it is not clear that Europe has a single market problem of the size and nature to justify a radical change in institutional set-up."

Mrs del Castillo suggests establishing an advisory body of national telecoms watchdogs instead.

Viviane Reding has been pushing for a single super-regulator since she initially proposed the idea in late 2006. Under her plan, national regulators would continue to analyze their domestic markets, much like national central banks continue to function. But the central European regulator's word would be final, much like the European Central Bank in Frankfurt sets interest rates for the entire single currency zone.

Last month, Telekom Austria's CEO, Boris Nemsic condemned the regulatory regime in Europe with its price controls and red tape as being akin to working in a communist state.

On the web: Financial Tines

Posted to the site on 2nd April 2008