26. 8. 97 EN Official Journal of the European Communities No L 234/7 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 14 May 1997 on the granting of additional implementation periods to Luxembourg for the implementation of Directive 90/388/EEC as regards full competition in the telecommunications markets (Only the French text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (97/568/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to the Agreement establishing the Euro- pean Economic Area, Having regard to Commission Directive 90/388/EEC of 28 June 1990 on competition in the markets for telecom- munications services ('), as last amended by Directive 96/19/EC (3, and in particular Article 2 (2) thereof, Having given notice (°) to interested parties to submit their comments in accordance with Article 2 (2) of Dir- ective 90/388/EEC, Whereas: 1. THE FACTUAL AND LEGAL BACKGROUND A. The Luxembourg request (1)  Pursuant to Article 2 (2) of Directive 90/388/EEC, the Luxembourg authorities, by letter of 28 June 1996, have requested the following implementation periods: — until 1 January 2000 in respect of the exclusive rights currently granted to the Luxembourg postal and telecommunications service provider () OJ No L 192, 24. 7. 1990, p. 10. () OJ No L 74, 22. 3. 1996, p. 13. () O] No C 257, 4. 9. 1996, p. 5. &) known as Entreprise des Postes et Télécommu- nications (EPT), for the provision of voice tele- phony and the underlying network infrastruc- ture. Under Article 2 (2) of Directive 90/388/EEC, this provision was to have been implemented by 1 January 1998, — until 1 July 1998 in respect of restrictions on the provision of already liberalized telecommu- nications services on: (a) networks established by the provider of the telecommunications service; (b) infrastructures provided by third parties; and (c) shared networks, other facilities and sites. Under Article 2 (2) of Directive 90/388/EEC, these provisions were to have been imple- mented before 1 July 1996. The provisions do not apply to cable TV infrastructures, governed by Article 4 of the same Directive. The Luxembourg authorities consider these addi- tional implementation periods to be necessary for the following reasons: — liberalization of the telecommunications market (consequent upon the immediate transposing of the Directive) before a suitable regulatory framework has been set up and the necessary structural changes made would expose Luxem- bourg to the risks of an unregulated market.