EU regulations on telecommunications: The role of subsidiarity and mediation

This article provides a critical examination of telecommunications regulation in the EU and argues for the need for change along the lines of subsidiarity and mediation. This discussion is particularly timely, as the European Commission is working on a new telecommunications regulatory framework, with the lessons and failures of the past appearing more critical than ever. In this context, this paper points to the debate between national heterogeneity and shared vision in the European Information Society and proposes a shift of the culture and procedures dominating formal EU regulation. It brings to the fore the potential for tensions between national particularities and EU regulation. These tensions will be resolved by applying subsidiarity along with existing regulatory tools and mediation via the enforcement of mediating networks and the establishment of institutions that increase accountability of EU regulations on telecommunications.