EU's Reding resists attempt to dilute telco veto

BRUSSELS, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The European Commission sought on Tuesday to stop attempts to water down its plans to hold a veto over national telecom regulators in the European Union, a key part of its attempt to boost competition in the sector.

EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding wants to open up further Europe's 300 billion euro ($435 billion) telecoms market so consumers can have a wider choice of faster and cheaper services.

She has proposed a package of measures on which the bloc's states and the European Parliament have the final say.

The assembly's Industry Committee has scrapped Reding's plan for a Commission veto over decisions taken by national telecom regulators and instead wants to give the last word to a planned new EU watchdog, Body of European Regulators in Telecoms (BERT).

Under the proposed alteration, should the Commission disagree with a national regulator's proposal for boosting competition, it would have to have BERT's backing to alter it. Without that backing the proposal would stand.

Reding hit out at this move to dilute her plans.

"In the interests of the internal market and of legal, and that means business, certainty there must be power for the Commission to require the notifying national regulator to change its approach in such a case," Reding told the European Parliament on Tuesday.

"We cannot accept that having been through the whole lengthy... review process, the notifying national regulator can just say 'Thank you very much for your point of view, but I prefer my approach' and simply do as if nothing has happened."

The EU assembly is due to take a first full vote on the package later this month and Reding's veto proposal can be restored before then. EU states hope to reach a political deal on the reform in November.

Reforms of EU rules often turn into a struggle between the Commission and member states over decision-making powers. (Reporting by Huw Jones, Editing by Erica Billingham)