TELECOMMUNICATIONS : * - SLOVENIA AIMS FOR AGREEMENT ON MOBILE SATELLITE SERVICES.

The single most difficult telecommunications subject facing the Slovenian Presidency is mobile satellite services. Ljubljana will attempt to forge a political agreement on this, but several member states openly question whether the draft decision could genuinely achieve pan-European coverage.

The idea is to introduce an EU-wide selection process and coordination among member states allowing candidate satellite system operators to deploy a pan-European network for mobile satellite services on the 2 GHz radio frequency.

The Council fears that some remote areas may not be covered, thus placing certain users at a disadvantage. The European Parliament is expected to examine the proposal in April. Member states will then attempt to reach an agreement at the Telecommunications Council on 12 and 13 June in Luxembourg.

Slovenia is more optimistic about the EU's part in the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) programme, which relies on new technologies to provide help and assistance to...