Telecoms talks in deadlock

Telecoms law talks remained deadlocked between European Union ministers and the European Parliament last night over what supervisory…

Telecoms law talks remained deadlocked between European Union ministers and the European Parliament last night over what supervisory power to give to the European Commission.

The ministers gave a mandate to current EU president Belgium to negotiate a compromise text with the European Parliament before the assembly votes on December 12th. This leaves the EU with less than a week to define whether the Commission should have veto power over national telecoms decisions and in which areas.

"It is not impossible to find a solution, but it is going to be difficult," Belgian telecoms minister Mr Rik Daems said. Its approval has been delayed by a row between member-states and parliament on whether the Commission should be given a supervisory role.