Filenews 23 September 2021
Legal proceedings against 19 member states - including Cyprus - are being initiated by the Commission, as the states have not met the objectives of the EU's digital legislation in the field of audiovisual media and telecommunications.
These Member States are obliged to transpose two new sets of rules into national law, without further delay: the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the European Electronic Communications Code, and to inform the Commission of this transposition. Both directives are crucial for the EU's digital transition, since they had been jointly agreed by the Member States, and should have been transposed into national law by the end of 2020.
Audiovisual Media Services Directive
The aim of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) is to ensure a fair single market for broadcasting services, which is in line with technological developments. To this end, this Directive was revised in 2018 to create a regulatory framework fit for the digital age, which will lead to a safer, fairer and more diversified audiovisual landscape. It coordinates legislation at EU level for all audiovisual media that include both traditional TV channels and video-on-demand services, and establishes basic protection measures with regard to content shared on video-sharing platforms.
Due to late transposition, citizens and businesses in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Slovenia and Slovakia may not be able to invoke all the provisions of the IMMSD, which:
- create a level playing field for the different types of audiovisual media services;
- ensure the independence of national media regulators;
- preserve cultural diversity by requiring, for example, that works offered by video-on-demand services be at least 30 % European;
- protect children and consumers by establishing rules to protect minors from harmful content in the online world, as they include protection measures relating to video-on-demand services; and
- combat racial, religious and other forms of hatred as they strengthen rules to combat incitement to violence or hatred, and public provocation to commit terrorist offences.
European Electronic Communications Code
EU actions in the field of electronic communications have resulted in more choice for consumers, lower telephone bills and higher standards of telecommunications services. The European Electronic Communications Code modernises EU rules in the field of telecommunications, making them fit for the digital age. Due to late transposition, consumers and businesses in Estonia, Spain, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden cannot benefit from rules providing for:
- clear and inclusive rules on end-user rights: the same rules to apply across Europe in the face of an inclusive single market;
- higher quality of service: consumers can have higher connection speeds and greater coverage; the Code promotes competition for investment, especially in very high capacity networks such as 5G networks;
- harmonisation of rules: the Code enhances regulatory predictability, including spectrum assignment;
- consumer protection: the Code benefits and protects consumers, regardless of whether end-users communicate through traditional services (calls, text messages) or through application-based services;
- a level playing field: the Code ensures equal treatment of all actors in the telecommunications services sector, whether traditional or application-based.
In particular, consumers should benefit from enhanced protection through rules ensuring clear contractual information, quality of service and facilitating switching between networks resulting in fairer retail prices. Operators and providers may benefit from rules in favour of investments, such as those that incentivise co-investments in very high capacity networks and exclusively wholesale networks, or regulatory and investment predictability, such as in radio spectrum assignment procedures.
