Proposal for a Council Decision establishing the EU position for the review of the International Telecommunications Regulations to be taken at the World Conference on International Telecommunications or its preparatory instances

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is a specialised agency of the United Nations, the aim of which is to promote 'international cooperation among peoples and economic and social development by means of efficient telecommunication services'. The 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) are voting members of the ITU and the European Commission is a non-voting sector member.

At the 2010 ITU Plenipotentiary, it was decided to hold a World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai from 3 to 14 December 2012, with the aim to revise the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs). The ITRs define the general principles for the provision and operation of international telecommunications and are a global treaty signed by 178 countries.

While the ITRs address issues related to international (as opposed to domestic) telecommunications services, there are aspects of the ITRs that related directly to issues covered by the EU acquis, in particular the Framework for electronic communications. The EU therefore needs to ensure that any proposed changes to the ITRs that are agreed in Dubai do not conflict with applicable legislation in the EU or restrict the EU as to the future development of the EU acquis.

The Commission therefore recommends that the Council adopts the attached decision in order to allow the EU to negotiate the revision of the ITRs in Dubai.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)430: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:430:FIN

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