Telecommunications deregulation in continental Europe is boiling up to become an exceedingly acrimonious issue and yesterday the European Commission invoked the controversial Article 90 of the Treaty of Rome, under which it can get its way by fiat without reference to any democratically elected body to force countries to implement deregulation as of January 1 1998 – and Viag AG and British Telecommunications Plc launched their joint venture on with a stinging attack on key aspects of government plans to deregulate the German market. According to Reuter’s lady in Brussels, the Commission will adopt legislation by the start of next year to require Community countries to keep their commitment to liberalise telecommunications markets by 1998, and confirmed that it planned to require governments to move before that date to free up competition in the areas of cable television and cellular communications. It will set licensing procedures, interconnection agreements between new providers and the traditional monopolies and ways to maintain universal service. While the Telecommunications Council of Ministers has agreed that most states should liberalise all services and infrastructure by January 1 1998, governments are not legally required to do so, which is why the Com mission is invoking Article 90 for its directive. Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland have until 2003 and Luxembourg until 2000 to deregulate. Article 90 directives will be issued soon to set January 1 1996 as the date governments must allow cable networks to carry some telecomunications services and to liberalise mobile and personal communications. The directive will allow cellular operators to bypass state phone companies and select alternative networks to deliver their services. On universal service, it is proposing that states should be free to determine how the service should be financed.
