A Single European Regulatory Authority

18 Pages Posted: 25 May 2010

See all articles by Ewan Sutherland

Ewan Sutherland

University of the Witwatersrand, LINK Centre

Date Written: June 25, 2008

Abstract

Periodically during the 1980s and 1990s the idea of a single European regulator for telecommunications (a Euro‐FCC) caught the imagination of the European Parliament or a Commissioner. In 2006 the EC proposed the European Telecom Market Authority (ETMA). On the one hand, telecommunications regulators are temporary, to be phased out as competition takes holds,on the other they have an enduring role because of underlying economic characteristics.

In the late 1990s there were serious discussions at the European Union (EU) level about a single regulator. There was no enthusiasm with market players and governments finally comfortable with national regulatory systems. At the same period, regulators began to meet to discuss common issues, if not always to collaborate or to agree. There were long debates during the 1999 Review about harmonization, the roles of the regulators and of the veto powers of the EC. The result was a series of compromises, including the creation of the European Regulators Group (ERG). Originally a “variable geometry” had been proposed, but instead it was reduced to a lowest common denominator of issues. While NRAs are required to notify all other NRAs of their draft decisions, they have uniformly declined to comment on these.

A proposal by Commissioner Reding for a single regulator in May 2006 came out of the blue. The ERG worked hard to convert the proposal into a confederation of existing regulators. The creation of further institutions faceds legal obstacles. While the nominal reason for ETMA was harmonization and the single market, it was unlikely this will have been the result. The regulators have, until now, shown a remarkable capacity to diverge, within a common framework, objectives and instruments. The most that might be expected is some increased cooperation, achieving greater coherence. Ultimately, the argument that national markets are different remains difficult to refute.

There has never been significant political or industry support for a single regulator. The member states fear the loss of influence over national markets. The NRAs fear for their own existence. The operators fear the disruption and increased regulation.

Keywords: European Union, single market, regulation, law, trans-national

JEL Classification: l96, K21, K23

Suggested Citation

Sutherland, Ewan, A Single European Regulatory Authority (June 25, 2008). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1615687 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1615687

Ewan Sutherland (Contact Author)

University of the Witwatersrand, LINK Centre ( email )

1 Jan Smuts Avenue
Wits
Johannesburg, Gauteng 2000
South Africa

HOME PAGE: http://link.wits.ac.za/

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