CEPT secures key outcomes for Europe at the 19th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference
Copenhagen, 13 November 2014 − The International Telecommunication Union's 19th Plenipotentiary Conference (ITU PP-14) ended in Busan, South Korea, on 7 November 2014 having agreed key decisions on the future of global telecommunications and Internet development.
Delegations from the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) joined together with over 2500 participants from 171 countries around the world for three-weeks of negotiations to tackle both the short and long-term global challenges facing the future of ICT.
CEPT, responsible for harmonising telecommunication, radio spectrum and postal regulations across Europe, worked actively throughout the conference to secure a package of measures based on its previously adopted European Common Proposals.
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Delegations of CEPT member states to the ITU PP-14 |
The key outcomes for Europe from PP-14 included:
- Internet governance: CEPT supported the addition of references to a multi-stakeholder approach to Internet governance and the need for debates to be conducted in an open and transparent manner;
- Child Online Protection: the Conference adopted the European proposal to modify the resolution on child online protection. Europe supported the development of policies at national, regional and international levels through the exchange of best practice between ITU member states. Furthermore, CEPT successfully argued for open participation of all stakeholders in the ITU's Working Group on Child Online Protection.
- Better collaboration with academia: At the request of Europe, academia, universities and their associated research establishments will now be permitted to participate in the work of all three ITU sectors: ITU Radiocommunication Sector; ITU Telecommunication Standardisation Sector; and ITU Telecommunication Development Sector;
- Open access: CEPT successfully argued for the modification of resolutions and decisions in order to develop further transparency across the ITU, enabling open access to ITU documents. PP-14 decided that all documents from ITU conferences and assemblies will be open to the public without password protection and a new group has been established to take this initiative forward;
- Flight tracking: Following the tragic disappearance of the Malaysian Airline over the Indian Ocean and in the interests of passenger safety, a new resolution has been agreed requiring the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) to address the issue of improved flight tracking;
- Gender equality in ICT: Based on CEPT proposals, the Conference has made changes to the resolution on gender equality in the ICT environment, aiming to highlight the potential of information and communication technologies for the empowerment of women;
- Empowerment of youths in ICT: The Conference also adopted a new resolution concerning the empowerment of youths within the ICT sector. ITU agreed to support member states in increasing opportunities for young people in the labour market.
Elections:
The Conference elected two Europeans to the management of the ITU. Mr. Malcolm Johnson was elected as the ITU's new Deputy Secretary General and Mr. François Rancy was elected as the Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau.
In addition, the following CEPT member states were elected to the ITU Council: Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. The Council acts as the Union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences. Its role is to consider broad telecommunication policy issues to ensure that the Union's activities, policies and strategies fully respond to today's dynamic, rapidly changing telecommunications environment.
Furthermore, Mr. Alfredo Magenta (Italy), Mrs. Lilian Jeanty (the Netherlands), Mr. Victor Strelets (Russian Federation), and Mr. Ievgen Khairov (Ukraine) were elected to the Radio Regulations Board.
Further information on the outcomes of the 19th Plenipotentiary Conference is available from the ITU's website.
The Final Acts of the Conference are available here.
Ends
Notes to Editors
1. The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference is the ITU's main policy-making body. The conference takes place every four years to determine the Union’s strategic direction and priorities, adopt its four-year strategic and financial plans, develop new policies and recommendations, and elect its senior management team.
2. The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications (CEPT) is the regional organisation responsible for representing European interests at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. Within CEPT, the Committee for ITU Policy (Com-ITU) is responsible for coordinating CEPT's engagement at the Plenipotentiary Conference and for the development of European Common Proposals (ECPs). More information is available at: www.cept.org/com-itu.
3. CEPT is an organisation where policy makers and regulators from 48 countries across Europe collaborate to harmonise telecommunication, radio spectrum, and postal regulations to improve efficiency and co-ordination in the field of communications for the benefit of European society.
4. Com-ITU is supported by CEPT's Secretariat office, the European Communications Office (ECO), which is based in Copenhagen, Denmark: www.cept.org/eco.
Contact:
Marcin Krasuski
Com-ITU Chairman / CEPT Co-President
European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations
+48 783 938 430
[email protected]
Updated: 16 August 2023, 14:44