European Union, France to Consult on Network Neutrality

The European Commission will launch a public consultation on the issue of network neutrality this quarter, Neelie Kroes, commissioner for the digital agenda, said Tuesday.

She intends to report back to the European Parliament before the end of the year whether regulatory action on net neutrality is necessary. However, she set the bar for introducing new regulation high, saying it must be justified by the need to tackle specific problems. The recently created Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), which brings together the national regulatory authorities of E.U. member states, has already set up a project team to work on net neutrality issues, Kroes said Tuesday.