Telecoms package: Czech Presidency wraps it up - and rubs it in

Posted on April 30, 2009 | Filed Under communication technologies 

A few weeks before the European elections, the Czech Presidency of the EU Council - proud to have achieved some sort of consensus on the “telecoms package” in the usual closed door “trialogue” negotiations - accords an interesting role to the elected representatives of the European citizens (press release):

“Now it is up to the European Parliament to rubber-stamp it at its plenary session on 6 May.”

Of course, this is exactly the way it will be [update 7 May 2009: I was wrong on that]. As the press release of the Presidency says, a “final deal with its [the Parliament’s] negotiators was struck on Tuesday 28 April.” And “Member States gave their consent to the deal on Wednesday 29 April at a meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper I).”

And after the rubber-stamp by Parliament, there needs to be one more decision: the Council (meeting on 12 June) will have to approve of the “deal”. Will this also be just a rubber-stamp? Of course not, because the Council uses more refined instruments, if you trust the Czech Presidency: “a seal of approval”. [Not that it would make a real difference, because it is also just a “formal seal of approval”]

So, while we wait for the official full and consolidated texts, the information that is available suggests that the “final deal” might well be ”such a deal of skimble-skamble stuff”, as Shakespeare put it (King Henry IV, Part I, Act III, Scene 1).

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One Response to “Telecoms package: Czech Presidency wraps it up - and rubs it in”

  1. No rubber stamp after all: EP vote on the telecoms package : contentandcarrier on May 7th, 2009 5:07 pm

    […] Telecoms package: Czech Presidency wraps it up - and rubs it in […]

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