EU Telecoms Chief Kroes: Reform Package Can Be Finished by May

The European Union can complete its overhaul of telecom regulations by next spring, the bloc's telecom chief Neelie Kroes said, addressing industry doubts that the reforms can pass by May.

Kroes, who presented her long-awaited legislative proposals to overhaul Europe's telecommunications industry last month, now faces a tight deadline to get them approved by member states and European countries' leaders. She said there is no alternative to passing the package as a whole, saying Europe will lose three years in its efforts to keep up with other regions if the measures fail to go through. Europe lags behind North America and much of Asia in fourth-generation mobile-phone coverage, which is holding back developments in the digital economy. "Of course we are in a hurry," Kroes said. "We can't afford a delay of three years in the whole sector." The proposals will die unless they are passed before elections for the European Parliament next May, the effective deadline. A new European Commission is due to take office in November 2014.