Mutual recognition of licences for the provision of satellite network services

The proposal for a directive, based on the Commission Green Paper on a common approach in the field of satellite communications in the European Community, was intended to facilitate the spread of networks of terrestrial satellite-communication stations and of services using such networks. To this end, it established a procedure for the mutual recognition of national licences and authorisations granted by the Member States for the installation and operation of terrestrial satellite-communication stations and/or the provision of satellite-communication services. In concrete terms, once a service provider had obtained a licence in a Member State, that provider would be able to apply for recognition of the licence in the other Member States. The proposed regime would cover every configuration of satellite networks and every satellite service, irrespective of technological changes. From an operational point of view, two mechanisms were envisaged: one related to authorisation, subject to harmonised conditions that were fully recognised throughout the Community, of all appropriate categories of satellite-based service, while the other related to satellite-based services for which it had proved impossible to achieve total mutual recognition and for which a type of 'one-stop shop' was to be established as a transitional measure. This transitional regime would start on the basis of a single centre for the submission of licence applications and would subsequently involve the introduction of standard forms and other harmonised procedural provisions, leading ultimately to a system of mutual recognition. The directive provided for a division between the Commission and the Member States of the responsibilities arising from the implementation of the mechanism. The harmonised conditions governing the granting of authorisations for satellite-based services would essentially be formulated by the Member States in the framework of a mandate assigned by the Commission to the European Postal and Telecommunications Conference (CEPT). The Commission would be responsible for ensuring that the harmonised conditions were compatible with Community law and for subsequently adopting the common conditions of authorisation with the aid of an advisory committee. �