EEurope Means Nothing Without eEntry: Regulatory Harmonisation, Subsidiarity and the Realisation of the Information Society

Abstract

Last year, the European Council set forth an ambitious political initiative: eEurope, an Information Society for All. eEurope will never be realised, however, unless sufficient competitive facilities-based entry occurs. One of the primary barriers to entry in Europe remains the lack of regulatory harmonisation among the various EU Member States. To mitigate this significant barrier, the European Union will be forced to push the limits of subsidiarity. In so doing, this paper does not argue that individual Member States' NRAs should be abolished in favour of some single, pan-European uber regulator. Quite to the contrary, this paper submits only that the European Community must undertake more of a leadership (and, by definition, an active oversight) role, rather than continue in its current role of distant legislator and data collection authority. For example, positive steps that the European Commission could take to bring greater regulatory harmony among the various Member States include, inter alia, (1) developing a standard cost model - complete with a uniform system of accounts - for all of Europe (including harmonised accounting safeguards for intra-firm transfer pricing); (2) establishing a cohesive and truly standard pan-European reference offer; and, perhaps most importantly, (3) working towards achieving real regulatory transparency within each of the various Member States. As this paper shows, government's job - be it local, national, or in this case pan-European - is to maximise consumer welfare. Thus, eEurope is within our grasp - it only takes the political will to achieve it.