Legal provisions of COM(2016)589 - Amendment of Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) No 283/2014 as regards the promotion of Internet connectivity in local communities

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dossier COM(2016)589 - Amendment of Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) No 283/2014 as regards the promotion of Internet connectivity in local ...
document COM(2016)589 EN
date October 25, 2017

Contents

Article 1 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013

Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 is amended as follows:

(1)in Article 2, point (1) is replaced by the following:

‘(1)“project of common interest” means a project identified in Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013, Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 or Regulation (EU) No 283/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*1);

(*1)  Regulation (EU) No 283/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 on guidelines for trans-European networks in the area of telecommunications infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1336/97/EC (OJ L 86, 21.3.2014, p. 14).’;"

(2)in Article 4, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

‘4.   In the telecommunications sector, the CEF shall support actions that pursue the objectives specified in Regulation (EU) No 283/2014.’;

(3)in the first subparagraph of Article 5(1), point (b) is replaced by the following:

‘(b)telecommunications sector: EUR 1 066 602 000;’;

(4)Article 7 is amended as follows:

(a)paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   Only actions contributing to projects of common interest in accordance with Regulations (EU) No 1315/2013, (EU) No 347/2013 and (EU) No 283/2014, as well as programme support actions, shall be eligible for support through Union financial assistance, in particular in the form of grants, procurement and financial instruments.’;

(b)paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

‘4.   In the telecommunications sector, all actions implementing the projects of common interest and programme support actions identified in Regulation (EU) No 283/2014 and meeting eligibility criteria and/or conditions laid down in accordance with that Regulation shall be eligible to receive Union financial assistance under this Regulation, as follows:

(a)generic services, core service platforms and programme support actions shall be financed through grants and/or procurement;

(b)actions in the field of broadband networks shall be financed through financial instruments;

(c)actions in the field of providing local wireless connectivity that is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions in local communities shall be financed through grants or other forms of financial assistance, not including financial instruments.’;

(5)in Article 9, the following paragraph is inserted:

‘1a.   Where justified by the need to avoid an undue administrative burden, in particular in the case of low value grants within the meaning of Article 185 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012, the Member States referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may agree to a category of proposals under the work programmes adopted pursuant to Article 17 of this Regulation, without indicating individual applicants. Such an agreement shall eliminate the need for Member States to approve each individual application.’;

(6)in Article 10(4), the following subparagraph is added:

‘Actions in the field of providing local wireless connectivity that is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions in local communities shall be funded by Union financial assistance covering up to 100 % of the eligible costs, without prejudice to the principle of co-financing.’;

(7)in Article 14, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   Financial instruments set up in accordance with Title VIII of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 may be used to facilitate access to finance by entities implementing actions contributing to projects of common interest as defined in Regulations (EU) No 1315/2013, (EU) No 347/2013 and (EU) No 283/2014, and to the achievement of their objectives. Those financial instruments shall be based on ex-ante assessments of market imperfections or sub-optimal investment situations and investment needs. The main terms, conditions and procedures for each financial instrument shall be those laid down in Part III of Annex I to this Regulation.’;

(8)in Article 17, paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:

‘5.   The Commission, when adopting multiannual and sectoral annual work programmes, shall establish the selection and award criteria in line with the objectives and priorities laid down in Articles 3 and 4 of this Regulation and in Regulations (EU) No 1315/2013, (EU) No 347/2013 and (EU) No 283/2014. When setting the award criteria, the Commission shall take into account the general orientations laid down in Part V of Annex I to this Regulation.’;

(9)in Article 22, the following paragraphs are added:

‘The certification of the expenditure referred to in the second paragraph of this Article is not mandatory for grants or other forms of financial assistance awarded pursuant to point (c) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 283/2014.

The requirement to inform the Commission annually referred to in the third paragraph of this Article shall not apply for grants or other forms of financial assistance awarded pursuant to point (c) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 283/2014.’.

Article 2 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 283/2014

Regulation (EU) No 283/2014 is amended as follows:

(1)in Article 2(2), the following point is added:

‘(h)“local wireless access point” means low power equipment of small size operating within a small range, using on a non-exclusive basis radio spectrum for which the conditions of availability and efficient use for that purpose are harmonised at Union level, and which allows wireless access by users to an electronic communications network.’;

(2)in Article 4(1), the following point is added:

‘(c)support the provision of high-quality local wireless connectivity that is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions in local communities.’;

(3)Article 5 is amended as follows:

(a)the following paragraph is inserted:

‘5a.   Actions contributing to projects of common interest in the field of providing local wireless connectivity that is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions in local communities shall be supported by:

(a)grants; and/or

(b)other forms of financial assistance, not including financial instruments.’;

(b)in paragraph 7, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘That amount shall be up to 15 % of the financial envelope for the telecommunications sector referred to in point (b) of Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013.’;

(4)in Article 6, the following paragraph is inserted:

‘8a.   Actions contributing to projects of common interest in the field of providing high-quality local wireless connectivity that is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions in local communities shall meet conditions set out in Section 4 of the Annex in order to be eligible for the funding.’;

(5)in Article 8(9), the following point is added:

‘(d)the number of connections to local wireless access points established under actions implementing Section 4 of the Annex.’;

(6)in the Annex, the following section is added:

‘SECTION 4. WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Actions must aim for the provision of local wireless connectivity that is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions in centres of local public life, including outdoor spaces accessible to the general public that play a major role in the public life of local communities, to be eligible for financial assistance. For the purpose of accessibility, those actions shall provide access to services at least in the relevant languages of the Member State concerned and, to the extent possible, in other official languages of the institutions of the Union.

Financial assistance shall be available to public sector bodies as defined in point (1) of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*2), undertaking to provide, in accordance with national law, local wireless connectivity that is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions through the installation of local wireless access points.

Actions taken for the provision of local wireless connectivity shall be eligible to receive funding if they:

(1)are implemented by a public sector body as referred to in the second paragraph which is capable of planning and supervising the installation, as well as ensuring for a minimum of three years the financing of operating costs, of indoor or outdoor local wireless access points in public spaces;

(2)build on high-speed broadband connectivity enabling delivery of high-quality internet experience to users that:

(a)is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions, easy to access, secured, and uses most recent and best available equipment, capable of delivering high-speed connectivity to its users; and

(b)supports access to innovative digital services, such as those offered via digital service infrastructures;

(3)use the common visual identity to be provided by the Commission and link to the associated online tools;

(4)respect the principles of technological neutrality at the level of the backhaul, the efficient use of public funding and the ability to adapt projects to the best technological offers;

(5)commit to procure the necessary equipment and/or related installation services in accordance with applicable law to ensure that projects do not unduly distort competition.

Actions duplicating existing free private or public offers of similar characteristics, including quality, in the same public space shall not be eligible to receive funding. Such duplication may be avoided by ensuring that the range of the access points funded under this Regulation is designed to cover primarily public spaces and not to overlap with that of existing private or public offers of similar characteristics.

The available budget shall be allocated in a geographically balanced manner across Member States to actions meeting the conditions set out in this Section in light of the number of proposals received and, in principle, on a “first come, first served” basis. The total allocation of funds under each call shall include all Member States from which eligible proposals are received.

Actions financed under this Section shall be in operation and closely monitored by the Commission for at least three years. After the operational period the Commission shall continue to provide an overview of functionality of those actions and possible input for future initiatives.

(*2)  Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p. 1).’."

Article 3 - Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.