BRUSSELS - The EU head office said Wednesday it has charged nine European countries for failing to open up telecoms markets to competition.
Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg and Poland received a first-round warning for not sending EU regulators their reviews of the market.
The EU says this analysis is crucial to make sure the market is open to competition and regulations are able to cope with change. Governments have two months to respond.
EU Information Society Commissioner Vivane Reding said EU rules had to be enforced to liberalize telecoms and create economic growth and jobs.
The European Commission warned Cyprus and Slovenia for not guaranteeing the independence of the national regulator. It also told Estonia it wasn't sticking closely to EU legal rules. Malta received a second-round warning for not obeying an EU order to allow customers keep their phone number when they change operators.
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