The 17th meeting of the ECO Council was held in Copenhagen on 30 November and 1 December 2017, chaired by Portugal.
In the wake of lengthy debate and the letter from the chair of the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) received on 30 June in response to the Council’s request, with a view to clearing up several matters for operation of the PSAP Directory, the Council members made a final decision, approving the creation, housing and management by the ECO Council of the database for those emergency services.
The issue was very controversial, raising numerous questions, especially from the legal standpoint. A secret vote was therefore held. According to the Council’s rules of procedure, votes are weighted depending on the number of contributory units paid and can vary from 1 to 25 votes per administration. The administrations that support the initiative for ECO management of the PSAP Directory were able to obtain just over two thirds of the votes, as required. The Council chair then sent a letter to the chairs of the ECC and the working group on Numbering and Networks (WG NaN), informing them of the decision.
The Council also debated the ECO’s financial policy. One proposal under discussion aimed to go ahead with the acquisition of bonds (with the minimum amount guaranteed in bank account in the event of the Office’s sudden closure), extending their redemption period, which until then was three years (at most). After a presentation given at the meeting by a Danske Bank representative, who explained the difficulties of obtaining liquidity if the redemption period was maintained, a decision was made to increase it to five years. Note that the objective of updating the ECO investments plan is basically due to concern with a view to lowering as far as possible the payment of negative interest to banks, a situation that has become unavoidable in Denmark.
Regarding the latest developments regarding human resources management, the ECO director (Per Christensen of Denmark) reported in closed session the need to replace the Office’s informatics expert. That decision, made after lengthy consideration, was unanimously supported by the staff, as the Council chair and vice-chair were able to verify when interviewing all experts and administrative personnel during the assessment of the director’s performance. Given the problems arising from that dismissal, it was agreed that the Office’s internal rules (Staff Rules and Internal Instructions) would be reviewed by specialised consultants, as it was found that they were not entirely in accordance with labour law in Denmark.
The Council approved the final extension of the contract of the Office’s deputy director (Bruno Espinosa of France) and approved an additional six-month extension of the final contract of the frequency management expert, Thomas Weber, who will stay until the end of next year. The recruitment process to hire the next international expert will be launched at the upcoming spring session of the Council.
The final version of the Office’s budget for 2018 was approved along with the financial plan for 2019-2020. In line with the trend over the last 14 years, everything seems to indicate that the contributory unit paid by administrations to the ECO will be maintained in coming years.
The Council members took note of the draft structure of the next (ninth) edition of the ECO annual report, which should be published in early May 2018. It was agreed that the final consultation phase with the Council members and the submission of their comments would run from 28 March to 12 April.
The Council also approved the Office’s working programme for 2018 and noted the preliminary results until 31 October.
The ECO deputy director reported to the Council developments concerning various ongoing projects, namely: the Office’s internet portal (CEPT-ECO-ECC-ComITU-CERP website), reworked a year ago, and positive results of the survey on that renovation; the Spectrum Engineering Advanced Monte Carlo Analysis Tool (SEAMCAT); the ECO Frequency Information System (EFIS); the new document database; the database of the ECC working programme; the repository of information concerning 700 MHz; and analysis of the impact on the computer system and others of the entry into force on 25 May 2018 of the new data protection regulation.
The status of the ECO Convention was noted, since the ‘substantial’ amendment of 23 November 2011 to accommodate Turkey’s request to lower its contributory unit. With respect to new signings or ratifications, the United Kingdom ratified that amendment, which the Danish Foreign Ministry (Convention depositary) reported to the Office on 25 October.
Portugal announced its availability as candidate for a second three-year term as chair of the ECO Council (the first ends in May 2018); a candidacy call should soon be launched
The next meeting of the ECO Council has been scheduled for 3-4 May 2018, also in Copenhagen, at the offices of the ECO.
