Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15)

The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) is the venue for revising the Radio Regulations (RR) that codify cross-border aspects of the use of the radio spectrum, in particular by determining which radio services are allocated to specific spectrum bands. Each WRC only considers a limited subset of the Radio Regulations, setting out the spectrum bands to be discussed and the scope of the possible outcomes based on an agenda decided at the previous WRC. The next conference will take place in Geneva from 2 to 27 November 2015. Following several years of preparatory work, it will conclude with the adoption of modifications to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio Regulations.

All EU Member States are members of the ITU and play an active part in adapting the Radio Regulations. The European Union is a ‘Sector Member’, a status similar to industry organisations. A common approach to spectrum planning on national territories means that, in practice, the RR can have a significant influence on spectrum use, even in purely domestic situations.

A strategic and coherent EU spectrum policy is a key element of a modern information society and helps facilitate a wide range of policy objectives; the European Parliament and the Council have recognised the importance of radio spectrum in particular in Directive 2002/21/EC of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (hereinafter the Framework Directive) and in Decision 243/2012/EU on establishing a multiannual Radio Spectrum Policy Programme to frame the development of spectrum policy within the European Union. The Framework Directive makes specific reference to the Radio Regulations, which Member States are required to respect. In addition, the Radio Spectrum Decision 676/2002/EC requires that activities undertaken under that Decision take due account of the work in the ITU.

It is therefore essential that decisions made at WRC-15 enable the Union to exercise its internal competence to implement the internal market and to develop appropriate policies. In that context, it is necessary for the Union to ensure that its interests are promoted and protected during the WRC negotiations.

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)234: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2015:234:FIN

ESO: Background information: Commission renews attempt to harmonise spectrum rules http://www.europeansources.info/record/commission-renews-attempt-to-harmonise-spectrum-rules/

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