The European Commission may not propose a rules overhaul as ambitious as previously suggested for its planned EU’s telecommunications review, slides shown by a senior Commission official to telecommunications Council attachés on 27 May and seen by Euractiv suggest.
This comes just hours after Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen adopted a softer stance than her predecessor and senior Commission officials on the substance of the upcoming Digital Networks Act (DNA) review, in an interview with Euractiv on the same day.
On access to fixed networks — essential for operators that do not own infrastructure — the DNA will pursue a deregulatory agenda by removing ex ante EU-level protections against abuse of dominance by network owners. But, in their place, the Commission plans to introduce a “simplified and predictable pan-EU harmonised access” framework, a slide reads.
National telecom regulators are expected to retain the ability to impose obligations on operators found to hold a dominant position that could be abused, following the same procedure set in the currently enforced European Electronic Communications Code.
The Commission — which approves ex ante obligations on operators set by national authorities — will not block any decision, the senior Commission official presenting the slides told Council telecom attachés during the meeting, in a bid to convince them.
Alternative measures to reduce dependence on dominant positions in legacy fixed copper networks — which may be subject to abuse by operators with sole national ownership — include accelerating the copper switch-off in favour of fibre and implementing more symmetrical regulatory frameworks that apply equally to all operators, rather than targeting only those deemed dominant, according to a European Commission slide.
Despite all this caution, about a third of EU member states reiterated their concerns to the Commission’s senior official regarding deregulation, which the Council officially addressed in a 2024 document, according to a source present at the meeting.
These slides reflect initial thinking by the EU executive and do not pre-empt the final regulatory proposal, expected by December 2025.
(nl)
