Mutual recognition of declaration and licensing procedures for provision of telecommunications services

Parliament approved the proposal subject to certain amendments relating to the following: - the inclusion of voice telephony and telex services in the scope of the Directive; - the need to ensure that the process was not harmful to those already operating in this sector and would not create increased bureaucracy; - the setting up of a European Telecommunications Authority with a mandate to apply European legislation on telecommunications (on the basis of a proposal which the Commission would present by 1.01.1997); - the need to make more transparent and equitable the conciliation procedure relating to disputes between service providers and the national regulatory authorities (participation of telecommunications operators and service providers in the work of the conciliation group, alongside the members of the CTC and, in certain cases, independent experts); - issues relating to third-country service providers and the need to take account of the principle of reciprocity and the extent to which the markets in the country of origin of the said service provider were opened-up; - the need for those bodies closely associated with the procedure for the harmonization of conditions for the granting of licences, namely the CTC and ECTRA, to submit annual reports to the Commission, the Council and Parliament on the work carried out within the context of the Directive. �