The agreement reached between the European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) on December 6 “could be very beneficial” in terms of prevention of practices anticompetitive and regulatory actions for the telecommunications sector, according to Telefónica.
The group also believes that this agreement addresses “key aspects” for its business, such as the efficient management of the radio spectrum. to ensure “fair and transparent procedures in future assignments.”
This is indicated by the company through a text signed by the head of Public Policies of Telefónica Hispam, Ana Blanco, and the head of Public Policies and Internet of Telefónica, Pablo Barrionuevo, a document in which the operator reviews some of the most relevant aspects of the treaty on telecommunications.
In this sense, it is worth remembering that Telefónica is the main European telecommunications operator in Latin America with a presence in nine countries in the region: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela, all of them Member States or Mercosur partners, except Venezuela (suspended since August 2017) and Mexico (has some trade agreements with the bloc).
In this context, the teleco chaired by José María Álvarez-Pallete considers that the agreement between the EU and Mercosur is “particularly relevant for Telefónica” given that, among other matters, the chapter on telecommunications services has a “broad scope and provides regulatory certainty” by ensuring the independence of regulatory authorities.
“The parties undertake to simplify the authorization regimes for the provision of services, which can be very beneficial for a highly bureaucratized sector”the managers who signed the text have stressed.
Along these lines, Telefónica also indicates that the agreement could be beneficial by enabling the sharing of experiences and results of new digital regulations, such as the Digital Markets Law or the Digital Services Law that the EU has launched.
He also emphasizes that “strongly protects” the “right to regulate” with the objective of not limiting the capacity of the parties to provide public services.
“To this end, the agreement includes provisions relating to the regulation of the sector (licensing, management of scarce resources and/or universal service obligations), as well as provisions to prevent anti-competitive practices,” it adds.
Dispute resolution mechanism
On the other hand, the operator has highlighted that the treaty establishes a dispute resolution mechanism that states that, in the event that occurs between providers of telecommunications networks or services It will be the relevant national regulatory authority, at the request of either party, who will issue a “binding decision” to resolve it.
However, Telefónica has clarified that, in its opinion, it would have been positive to include a mechanism to propose investment arbitrations to private law parties.
“It would help attract investment providing it with greater legal certainty by guaranteeing that conflicts that may arise are resolved through an independent procedure subject to international law,” he argued.
Another of the benefits of the treaty to which Telefónica has referred has to do with the possibility of competing on “equal conditions” in matters of public procurement.
Regarding this, he specified that the European Commission has stressed that this is a novelty for any third country, since Mercosur has previously restricted its public tenders to internal companies.
“In our opinion, the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the economic growth of both regions by creating new market opportunities for goods and services, the creation of jobs and the promotion of investments by giving stability to them and providing a framework of greater legal certainty,” highlighted the teleco.
In this context, he advocates the ratification of the agreement and believes that, otherwise, the EU and Mercosur would be left “with fewer instruments” to build mutual trust and to “cooperate to confront global challenges.”
“The lack of ratification would lead the Mercosur countries to divert their commercial activity towards other partners with lower regulatory standards in environmental and labor matters,” he added.
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