Major disagreements between the upper (Bundesrat) and lower (Bund...
Major disagreements between the upper (Bundesrat) and lower (Bundestag) chambers of the German Federal Parliament on key parts of the country’s draft Telecom Act could further delay its compliance with the European Union’s (EU) new regulatory framework for electronic…
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communications. The European Commission (EC) last fall warned Germany it would impose legal sanctions on the country if it failed to implement 5 EU directives into national law on time. The German Federal Cabinet responded last Oct., approving the draft (CD Oct 16 p4) and clearing the way for it to move to the German Parliament for a vote. After the Bundestag recently voted on the modified draft, however, “it is becoming more and more obvious that [Bundesrat] will reject the [Bundestag’s] bill in its entirety and send it to the Chambers’ Joint Reconciliation Committee,” said Axel Spies, a German attorney at Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman in Washington. He said there were “a number of issues” where German states represented in Bundesrat wanted “significant modifications.” For example, he said states had asked for the introduction of a minimum data retention period of 6 months for voice and e-mail traffic. They said they favored strengthening the German telecom regulator’s (RegTP) independence and asked that it be allowed to impose stiffer penalties for law violations. States have also pushed for changes of rules governing: (1) RegTP’s market analysis. (2) Annual contributions by the industry to finance the RegTP. (3) Calculation of interest rates for significant market power charges. Given the schedule of the Joint Reconciliation Committee, Spies said it could be expected to vote May 14 at the earliest, “with June 11 being more likely.” He said the final votes of the 2 chambers were expected by late June-early July or later. Spies, who also represents the German Competitive Carriers Assn., said “any delay creates further uncertainty” for investors who, “almost one year after the implementation deadline of the” new EU directives, didn’t “know what the law of the land is.”