Telecommunications : competitive environment (amend. Directives 90/387/EEC, 92/44/EEC)

By adopting the report by Mr Fernand HERMAN (PPE, B), the European Parliament approved the joint text of the Conciliation Committee. Following the recommendation for second reading adopted by Parliament on 11 December 1996, the Conciliation Committee adopted the proposal without debate. As regards the competitive environment in the field of telecommunications, the Commission undertook to check that the detailed arrangements for the introduction of the universal service by the Member States did not entail any distortion of competition. The joint text also stipulated that consideration would be given to the establishment of a European regulatory authority and that portability of numbers would be genuinely implemented in order to eliminate any obstacle which might prevent users from choosing their supplier. �