Supplement to Commission communication of 27 November 1996 on assessment criteria for national schemes for the costing and financing of universal service in telecommunications and guidelines for the Member States on operation on such schemes (COM(96) 608)
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Brussels, 03. 09. 1998 COM(1998) 494 final Supplement to Commission Communication of 27 November 1996 on Assessment Criteria for National Schemes for the Costing and financing of Universal Service in telecommunications and Guidelines for the Member States on Operation of such Schemes (COM(96)608) il!, S 'II? $ ! I Supplement to Commission Communication of 27 November 1996 on Assessment Criteria for National Schemes for the Costing and financing of Universal Service in telecommunications and Guidelines for the Member States on Operation of such Schemes (COM(96)608) This Communication is a supplement to the Commission's Communication COM(96) 608 of 27th November 1996 on the costing and financing of universal service ("the November Communication"). It follows the adoption by the European its Resolution of 18 September 1997 on the November Parliament of Communication in which the Parliament questioned the exact status of that communication. It was concerned that the drafting might give the impression that the Communication was seeking to go further than its stated intention of informing "the Member States on the criteria which the Commission will use in assessing under Community law provisions relating to the costing and financing of universal service within national schemes for universal service", and actually result in the creation of additional legal obligations for the Member States. In response the Commission can confirm that that the intention and aim of the November 1996 Communication was only to clarify or make explicit existing or proposed obligations within the Community framework for telecommunications!. 1 In this context, the use of "must" in the text in the places indicated afterwards was not intended to imply binding legal obligations where none already existed. This applies to p_6, Point 3. 3, 2nd line; p_9, Point 4, 1st para, 2nd line; p_10, Guidelines 1. 2, 3rd para, 1st line; pjM, Guidelines 1. 2. 2(H) 2nd para, 6th line and footnote 12; p12, Guidelines I. 2. 2 (iii), 3rd para, 1st line in the English text. a ISSN 0254-1475 COM(98) 494 final DOCUMENTS EN 15 10 09 16 Catalogue number : CB-CO-98-511-EN-C ISBN 92-78-38815-7 Office for Official Publications of the European Communities L-2985 Luxembourg 3