The eighth meeting of the CEPT WG project team (PT) in charge of preparing for the upcoming 2006 Plenipotentiary Conference (PP) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was held on 18-20 July in Istanbul.
After a first set of 10 European common proposals (ECPs), already been approved by the working group to which this PT reports (and forwarded to the ITU), a second package containing three additional ECPs and a third with four common proposals, the group finalised the following at this meeting:
- Proposed ECP on spam and network security (revision of Resolution 130 of PP-02);
- Proposed ECP on the management of internet resource (revision of Resolution 102 and suppression of Resolution 133);
- ECP on the amendment of Resolution 27 on the Union?s participation in the United Nations development programme;
- Proposed ECP on the 3000 GHz limit in the definition of radiocommunications.
With these proposals finalised, PT PP-06 can by delegation of powers from WG ITU simultaneously proceed with the final approval of the above mentioned proposals. The new ECPs will now be sent to the organisation?s members to be signed. Also approved was an addendum to ECP 13 (on the Co-ordination Committee) concerning references to the Co-ordination Committee that appear in Decisions and Resolutions.
Besides the finalised ECP proposals, the PT examined the following issues, some of which may lead to new ECPs:
- Proposed ECP on the Union?s financial stability;
- Proposed ECP on how to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation?s financial management;
- Proposed ECP on the working methods of the Radio Regulations Board (RRB);
- Proposed ECP listing the Decisions and Resolutions to withdraw (to be approved at the next meeting);
- Agreement was reached on the text to include in the brief and position paper, on the issue of cancelling unpaid invoices involving cost recovery from satellite system notifications (associated with Resolution 88). However, given that consensus on this issue was not deemed possible, the idea of drawing up an ECP on the subject was dropped;
- Information on alternative call back methods advising of advantages in terms of promoting the competition that can hence result was included in the brief;
- The structure and chairs of the PP-06 committees and groups was discussed;
- Europe?s position opposing the probable attempt to institutionalise the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) was included in the brief and position paper;
- The proposed ECP to eliminate cross references between the RR and the CS, CV and Decisions and Resolutions of the PP was examined, and should be re-examined at the next meeting;
- Although no significant progress was made at this meeting, the group?s agenda will maintain the question concerning PP-98 Resolution 98 on the cost recovery principle, which may also result in an ECP proposal.
The participants in this meeting updated the brief and position paper, documents meant to be used as a guide for the CEPT countries during PP-06. Work progressed on identifying the PP Decisions, Resolutions and Recommendations that should be maintained, amended or withdrawn. Such activity will also continue at the next PT meeting.
Lastly, note that this meeting maintained the structure used in the previous ones, somewhat different from the other groups, as on one of the days work was conducted in editing groups that reviewed some of the documents debated on the first day, with a view to finalising some of the common proposals and/or revising the base documents of this preparatory work, namely the brief and position paper. Portugal accompanied three of the four editing groups (the exception was the editorial group, where it is relevant that it has delegates whose mother tongues are English, French and Spanish). In two of them the written proposals that Portugal brought to this meeting?s attention were debated and incorporated.
The next and likely last meeting of this PT will be held in on 18-20 September in Berlin.
