Greece

[GR] New Electronic Telecommunications Law

IRIS 2006-5:1/23

Alexandros Economou

National Council for Radio and Television

On 17 January 2006, the Greek Parliament adopted a new law (L. 3431/2006) incorporating the EU electronic communications legal framework. This new Law provides for the formation of a new Consultative Body, the Commission of Communication Policies, and clearly defines the tasks and responsibilities of the telecommunications authorities according to their specific remit: the Ministry of Transport and Communications shall be responsible for national policy in its sector, shall define the content of the Universal Service and shall set the procedures for the selection of the Universal Service provider; the NRA (National Commission of Telecommunications and Posts) shall observe and review the application of the Law and the established national policy and shall grant licences where necessary. The providers shall be allowed to render relevant services after a special notification to the NRA whereas, when the use of scarce resources is needed, a General Licence must first be granted by the NRA. Regarding competition restrictions, the new Law sets restrictions only in a case where a provider has a dominant position in any of the defined markets (and not a Significant Market Position).

One of the most noteworthy provisions of the new Law is the application of the precautionary principle which translates in the implementation of significant restrictions with regard to the installation of stations and poles (300 meters away from sensitive areas such as schools, hospitals etc….). After the publication of this Law in the Greek Official Gazette, the Commission announced the termination of all (four) relevant procedures against Greece initiated from April 2004 (see IRIS 2006-3: 8).