Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s vice president for tech sovereignty, stated that she “was not in favour of directives” when asked about her preferred type of legislation for the upcoming Digital Networks Act (DNA), which is expected to review EU’s telecommunications rules, in a meeting with the press on 27 March in Amsterdam.
“When it comes to digitalisation, regulation is always the better approach,” stated Virkkunen, potentially sparking an institutional clash with the Council of the EU, which, albeit reluctantly and with numerous carve-outs, accepted a regulation for EU law fast-tracking fibre and 5G roll-outs, the Gigabit Infrastructure Act, during the previous mandate.
The Commission’s vice president added that member states’ diverse transpositions of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) – which currently regulates EU’s telecoms markets – have resulted in fragmentation of the telecommunications market.
She added that the DNA rules should be as uniform as possible across the EU and should simplify the existing EECC to encourage investment. She reiterated the Commission’s position that, at the current investment rate, the EU risks falling short of its 2030 connectivity targets of achieving 100% fibre and 5G coverage in inhabited areas.
Citing the recommendations of the Letta report—which advocates for maximum harmonisation of telecom rules across Europe and the consolidation of telecom operators—Virkkunen stated that her team is currently “looking at” the possibility of easing merger rules between operators and shifting away from ex-ante regulation within the EECC. However, she did not confirm whether the DNA would include these provisions.
“I want to make sure that our telecom sector is competitive, successful, and has a better, more harmonised single market,” she stated.
On cybersecurity in the telecoms market, Virkkunen reiterated how “unhappy” she was with the member states’ implementation of the 5G toolbox – which mandates EU countries to phase-out “high-risk” Chinese components from 5G mobile networks. Five years after the implementation of the toolbox, 17 countries are still not ready to phase out their dependence on Chinese products, data shows.
“Stronger measures are needed,” she said, aligning with a letter recently sent to her by 40 MEPs across parties following the Huawei corruption scandal.
