• Recently Written

  • “a joint burden laid upon us all”*: advocate general on universal service financing
  • “Confusion now hath made his masterpiece!”* Advocate general reprimands Council and Commission
  • “And yet my SKY shall not want”*: European General Court finds for Murdoch, orders Berlusconi’s Mediaset to repay state aid granted by Berlusconi’s government
  • “high respect and rich validity”* - ECJ: Roaming Regulation valid
  • “ever precise in promise-keeping”*?: open and vague ministerial promises do not constitute state aid

• Categories

  • communication technologies
  • competition/mergers/state aid
  • copyright
  • digital content
  • events / publications
  • fundamental rights
  • national regulatory authorities
  • public services
  • spectrum policy

• Archives

  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • July 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007

• Blogroll/Links

  • antitrustlawblog
  • antitrustprof
  • e-comm (in German)
  • Electronic Communications Regulation Update
  • Eoin O'Dell
  • informationoverlord
  • lexferenda
  • Media Law Prof Blog
  • MediaPal @ LSE
  • Net Neutrality in Europe
  • Online Journal on International Constitutional Law
  • professor geradin
  • telemedicus (in German)
  • Virtual Law @ LSE

• RSS-Feed

  

  • Admin

    • Login
    • Wordpress

Cases to watch out for at the ECJ (another update)

Posted on October 3, 2007 | Filed Under communication technologies 

A few months ago, I posted a first list of cases concerning the EU framework for electronic communications networks and services pending at the European Court of Justice. As I promised then, this blog kept you updated as these cases evolved (see for instance here, here and here).

Last week at the 8th “Telekom-Forum” in Salzburg, an event jointly organized by the Europan Commission (DG INFO), Salzburg University and the Austrian national regulatory authority, Wolf-Dietrich Grussmann of the implementation unit of DG INFO gave a talk on the ECJ’s case law in matters of electronic communication networks and services. He pointed out that the reform package 1998 had led to some 250 infringement procedures with 32 cases before the ECJ and 21 decisions taken by the Court. The 2002 regulatory framework has already led to some 150 infringement proceures for non-implementation, and some 90 infringement procedures for incorrect implementation. While more than half of these proceedings were closed, 8 cases are pending at the ECJ. In addition to infringement cases, there are some very interesting requests for preliminary rulings currently pending.

I will not go into the details of the cases that have been decided, since - in addition to our “live coverage” of the decisions and Advocate General’s opinions (see for instance here, here and here) - DG INFO will shortly publish a new and updated “Guide to the Case Law” of the ECJ in the field of telecommunications (it will be available for download at this site). All cases up to this summer (July 2007) will be covered by that publication.

So here I will just update the list of pending cases for easy reference - first the infringement cases:

• C-387/06 (Finland), C-227/07 (Poland), and C-424/07 (Germany) deal with the powers of the regulatory authorities, the German case takes up the “regulatory holiday” issue (the pleas an main arguments have not yet been published in the Official Journal);
• C-416/06 deals with directory services in Poland;
• C-220/07 concerns the designation of the Universal Service Operator in France;
• C-230/07 (Netherlands), C-234/07 (Portugal) and C-274/07 (Lithuania) deal with caller location when dialling 112.

And here are the requests for preliminary ruling:

• C-426/05 Tele2UTA concerns the rigth to appeal according to Art 4 Framework Directive (the case C-366/06 DNA Verkot, dealing with quite a similar issue, has been withdrawn);
• C-250/06 UPC-Belgium and C-336/07 Niedersächsische Medienanstalt (not yet published) concern must carry obligations;
• C-262/06 Deutsche Telekom addresses an issue of the transitional regime (C-453/06 01051 Telecom, dealing with a similar issue, has been removed from the register);
• C-55/06 Arcor deals with “a maze of questions” (as the Advocate General pointed out) surrounding cost-orientation in unbundling;
• C-380/05 Centro Europa 7 addresses media pluralism in connection with broadcasting spectrum issues and provided the opportunity for Advocate General Poaires Maduro to elaborate on the possibility of “serious and persistent violations” of fundamental rights which would highlight a problem of systemic nature and thus might qualify as violations of the rules on free movement;
• And C-275/06 Promusicae could provide the ECJ the first opportunity to say a few words obiter to the data retention directive, as the Advocate General in her opinion did;
• The case C-190/06 Belgacom, concerning the use of SIM-gateways, has been taken off the register recently.

PS: contentandcarrier has been included in this week’s “Blawgreview”, hosted by Daithí Mac Síthigh’s “Lex Ferenda“-Blog - check out the other fine blogs featured in this issue of Blawgreview!

Comments