The United Kingdom's creditworthiness is declining. This is the result of the latest cepDefault-Index 2017. The main reason for the decline is the population’s high propensity to consume: since 2012, the population of the United Kingdom has consumed more than the total available income. Moreover, the competitiveness of the British economy declined for years.

According to the Commission, there are considerable weaknesses in the existing apparatus for supervising the telecommunications sector which consists of the national regulatory authorities (NRAs), other national authorities, the Commission, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the BEREC Office. It therefore wants to restructure this apparatus.

The EU Commission wants to facilitate the use of protected content for public interest purposes by way of restrictions on copyright. At the same time it wants to ensure fair remuneration for rightholders and press publishers.

The turmoil threatening the very existence of the EU continues. Evidence for this is provided by the cepDefault-Index 2017. The cep authors point out that Greece in particular remains uncreditworthy and that there is no sign of any reversal in the trend. Apart from Greece; Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Slovenia and Cyprus indicate declining creditworthiness which has in addition become firmly established.

The Commission wants to extend the regulation of telecoms network operators independently of market power in order to speed up the deployment of very high capacity networks. Upper limits on termination charges will indirectly bring down the price of calls.

With the new Regulation, the EU Commission wants to facilitate cross-border access to television and radio programmes via digital channels. In cep's view, the Regulation distorts competition because it is framed in such a way that is neither supplier-neutral nor technology-neutral.

A White Paper presented by the UK Government on 2 February 2017 outlines the strategy of the United Kingdom for the exit negotiations with the EU. It entails several new notable accents.

The Energy Efficiency Directive of 2012 is to be amended. A stricter, and now also binding, energy savings target of 30% by 2030 will apply in the EU. In order to achieve this target, the Member States will be subject to detailed energy savings obligations. Thus, they will also have to ensure that the energy consumption of end customers falls by 1.5% per year post 2020.

Brexit negotiations could produce a "Ukraine Plus Model". This is the conclusion reached by the authors of the latest cepAdhoc. They compare the British Prime Minister's proposals with agreements which the EU has concluded with other countries.

The EU Commission wants to speed up the deployment of fast telecommunications networks. An access regulation for telecoms network operators with a dominant market position which gives more consideration to competition at retail level will contribute to this. cep welcomes this step but criticises the preferential regulatory treatment given to "very high-capacity networks".

The EU Commission has submitted its proposal to amend the Posting of Workers Directive. The principle of "equal pay for equal work in the same place" will apply to both permanent employees and posted workers. In cep's view, this proposal is in breach of the freedom to provide services in the EU.

The Commission wants to improve cooperation between national consumer protection authorities in combating cross-border infringements of EU consumer protection laws. In cep's view, however, burdensome duties of cooperation should only apply to infringements which could noticeably damage the internal market.

An EU certification scheme for aviation security screening equipment – e.g. metal detectors or body scanners – intends to overcome fragmentation of the internal market. This will be based on EU type-approval recognised in all Member States.

The European Parliament discusses the EU Commission's proposal to introduce an EU deposit guarantee scheme. The cepAdhoc assesses the European Parliament's draft report.

The EU Commission is planning to ban geo-blocking and other discrimination based on nationality, place of residence or establishment in order to improve cross-border online trade in goods and services. In cep's view, the bans will only rarely result in customers buying more across borders.

The EU Commission proposes the introduction of a "Pillar of Social Rights" which is to contain principles for the approximation of the social policies of the Member States. In cep's view, the approximation of social standards is inadvisable because the capacity of the national social systems is too varied.

With a strategy for low-emission mobility, the EU Commission intends to help reduce CO₂ emissions and air pollutants caused by transport. In cep's view, the Commission's proposed measures are largely unsuitable for reducing these emissions caused by transport in a manner which is effective and ensures "technology neutrality".