EUROPEAN ELECTIONS COULD AFFECT TELECOM, PRIVACY, DIGITAL RIGHTS
The voting may have ended last week, but Europe’s telecom sector won’t know for some time how it fared in the election of members of the European Parliament (MEPs). While the balance of power in the EP remained essentially static, the greatest unknown is the makeup of the various committees that deal with telecom and Internet issues. The impact of the loss of several key privacy and digital rights supporters is also unclear.
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Preliminary results from the June 10-13 vote show the European People’s Party and European Democrats (EPP-ED) with 278 MEPs out of a total of 732. In 2nd place, as in the current parliament, is the Party of European Socialists (PES), with 199 MEPs. The European Liberal Democrat & Reform Party (ELDR) remains in 3rd, with 67 MEPs. The new parliament, which opens its first plenary session July 20, has a slightly stronger EPP and a slightly weaker PES contingent than the last, said consultant Joe McNamee, of Political Intelligence in Brussels. From a political point of view, however, the balance of power hasn’t changed, said a spokesman for the European Information, Communications & Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Assns. (EICTA).
In general -- though by no means always -- the EPP-ED (Conservative Party) has been considered more balanced and “more immune to lobbying” than the Socialists, McNamee said. Oddly, he said, Socialist and Green Party MEPs have traditionally been more industry- than consumer-friendly while Conservatives have been better at facing down big- business pressure.
The EP continues to lean right. When it’s left-of center, there’s less interest in liberalizing new sectors, said Jonna Byskata, EU affairs mgr. of the European Competitive Telecom Assn. (ECTA). Left-wing parties might seek more power for member states, ensuring greater state control of utility companies and less liberalization, she said. On the other hand, right-wing parties prefer to leave more to market forces, but need the markets to be liberalized first, Byskata said.
No one is ready to predict the election’s effect on telecom and Internet matters. Some MEPs tuned into communications issues didn’t stand for reelection and some lost their seats. One who was re-elected is U.K. EPP-ED member Malcolm Harbour, who made implementation of the European Union’s e-communications regulatory framework come to life, Byskata said. The EP has begun to show interest in following up legislation it’s had a part in crafting, she said. Harbour and another (former) U.K. MEP wrote an “own- initiative” report last fall responding to various European Commission (EC) statements on the state of the telecom market, she said. ECTA hopes Harbour continues to take the initiative and that others join him in looking at implementation issues, Byskata said. It’s important to raise the interest of new MEPS in telecom issues and then hope there’s no change for the worse, the EICTA spokesman said.
Other returning MEPs who have played key roles in Internet and telecom debates include France’s Janelly Fourtou (EPP-ED), who spearheaded the push for the controversial intellectual property (IP) rights enforcement directive, Germany’s Erika Mann (PES), and the U.K.’s Arlene McCarthy (PES).
But several privacy and digital civil rights advocates won’t be back. European Digital Rights (EDRI) EU Affairs Dir. Andreas Dietl mourned the loss of Italy’s Marco Cappato (a nonattached MEP), who championed privacy and data protection rights. Johanna Boogerd-Quaak (ELDR) sued the EC over its decision to allow transfer of airline passenger data to the U.S. and opposed EC proposals on software patents, Dietl said. Another Dutch MEP, Elly Plooij-Van Gorsel (ELDR), was “one of the Parliament’s most high-profile MEPs when it came to defending the Internet as a place of free expression.” And Germany’s Ilka Schroeder (Confederal Group of the European United Left) -- who opposed mandatory data retention and software patents -- is also out, Dietl said.
And telcos and ISPs face other uncertainties. The EC on Fri. remained deadlocked over the choice of a new president, who will play a key role in monitoring implementation of directives into national law, Byskata said. The makeup of parliamentary committees won’t be known for a few weeks, said Richard Nash, EuroISPA regulatory affairs mgr. The composition of the relevant committees is “extremely important,” he said, because most EP political groups don’t have a “party line” on telecom and Internet issues. The 2 committees with the greatest input on communications issues are Legal Affairs & the Internal Market (JURI) and Industry, Eternal Trade, Research & Energy (ITRE). In the new parliament, JURI will be split into 2 committees -- legal affairs and the internal market, the EICTA spokesman said. ITRE will also be divided, with one committee handling foreign trade issues and another industry, research and energy.
Another potential complication is the emergence of “Euroskeptics.” The United Kingdom Independence Party -- which advocates withdrawing Britain from the European Union - - captured 12 seats in the EP. Euroskeptics might be less interested in business regulation, Byskata said.
The “dust needs to settle,” said Tony Bunyan, editor of Statewatch, a U.K. publication monitoring EU states and civil liberties: “We do not yet know the exact formation of party groups. Will the skeptics get a lot bigger? Will the fascists and racists form their own group? Will there be a ‘centre, Federalist’ alliance?”