Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2013
538. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the discussions that he had with fellow Ministers at the EU Telecoms Council held in Luxembourg on Thursday, 6 June 2013; if he will detail the decisions made at the Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27781/13]
View answerGiven the Irish Presidency’s emphasis on promoting stability, jobs and growth, our focus within the Telecoms’ Council has been to progress initiatives under the Digital Agenda for Europe and to push for the completion of the various dossiers linked to the Digital Single Market.
At its meeting on June, I reported to Council on progress in relation to the various files for which we had responsibility during our Presidency term. I was happy to be able to report two early successes: we secured early agreement on the re-use of Public Sector Information which will improve the availability of publicly-held information by removing barriers to its access which will facilitate the development of new services and innovative products.
I also reported on the agreement of a new mandate for the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). As a result of our leadership on this issue we now have the basis for a more robust, reinforced agency, better able to meet the technological challenges and demands facing the EU now and in the future.
I presented my Council colleagues with progress reports on the files relating to proposals on Trans-European Networks for telecommunications (as part of the Connecting Europe Facility), on reducing the costs associated with broadband roll-out and on the issue of web-accessibility, particularly in relation to public sector websites. I also reported on substantial progress on the complex but very important area of the draft Regulation on electronic identification and trust services, one of the most important building blocks in any properly-functioning digital single market.
The Council also held two debates. One was an orientation debate on the recently-published Directive on National Information Security. The purpose of this debate was for the Council to give to both the Commission and to the incoming Lithuanian Presidency some clear guidance in terms of how the important issue of cyber security should be dealt with within the EU and what policy priorities should be pursued.
The main debate at Council was a policy debate on the proposed Single Telecoms Market (STM). This debate afforded the Council an opportunity to reflect on progress to-date in relation to achieving a Digital Single Market and give direction to the Commission in advance of its anticipated draft Regulation on STM due to be published in July. In addition, it also allowed the Council to set out its priorities ahead of next October’s European Council, which will specifically focus on digital and innovation. In my role as President of the Telecoms’ Council, I will be writing to President Van Rompuy setting out the main policy priorities as expressed by my Council colleagues.
