Germany Faces EU Suit over Telecoms Market

The European Commission has initiated proceedings against Germany and seven other European countries for failing to adopt EU regulations governing the liberalization of its telecommunications market. An EU Commission spokesman said on Wednesday that the countries have failed to implement legislation passed in March 2003 that calls for cheap connections that can be easily plugged into the center of an existing network. The law is intended to make it easier for independent high-speed Internet access companies to compete with former government monopolies. Failure to respond to the EC threat letter could result in a suit at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.