EU sues Poland, Belgium over telecoms rules

Brussels – The European Commission took Poland and Belgium to court Thursday, saying that they had broken European law in their treatment of telecoms operators.

The Commission, which is tasked with making sure that European Union member states keep EU law, referred Poland to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over its alleged failure to ensure the independence of the national telecoms regulator.

At the same time it complained that Belgium had broken EU rules in the way it calculated the cost to telecoms firms of guaranteeing basic services to all consumers – the so-called "provision of universal service." 

Poland also drew sharp questions for changing its law on telecoms without carrying out a market analysis. The Commission quizzed Cyprus over the way in which it allowed firms to set up mobile-telephone masts and other equipment, and Portugal over the way in which it appointed its national universal-service provider.

The Brussels-based body also opened an investigation into Luxembourg’s treatment of its telecoms regulator.

However, it closed cases against Slovakia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Latvia.

dpa