Paris hosted last 23-24 May the 35th session of the Assembly of Parties (AP) of the European Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (EUTELSAT), with ANACOM representing the Portuguese state at this meeting.
Various issues were examined at the gathering and the following decisions made:
- Regarding oversight of activity by the Eutelsat Group, which encompasses the EUTELSAT Communications holding and the company Eutelsat S.A., by the Eutelsat intergovernmental organisation (Eutelsat IGO), the Assembly received reports from the Executive Secretariat and the Advisory Committee, which held that the group's operational and commercial action was in line with the base principles stipulated by the IGO, namely complying with its obligations with respect to universal service;
- The Assembly, also bearing in mind the activities report and the presentations made by Eutelsat S.A., considered that the company has the technical, financial and operational means that allow it to observe compliance with its commitments. On the other hand, it noted that the role of ''censeur'' held by the Executive Secretary vis-à-vis the Councils of Administration of the company and the holding, which allows it to attend the respective meetings, strengthens the capacity for regular monitoring of the satellite operator;
- Developments in the group's shareholder structure were analysed. At present a 32 percent stake is held by Abertis and 26 percent by the Caisse des Depôts et Consignations. It was stressed that these two new majority shareholders have shown they are aware of the obligations deriving from the letter-agreement dated 2 September 2005;
- The new Eutelesat IGO Advisory Committee was elected for a two-year term and comprises France, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Also approved was the budget for the financial year running from July 2007 through June 2008, as well as the draft budget for the following year;
- The recent study on the conditions governing Eutelsat S.A.'s use of the frequency usage rights allocated it by the IGO was debated, including the possibility of usage via payment. A decision was made not to immediately apply the conclusions of this study, given the current state of good relations between the two bodies;
- Regulatory evolution affecting the operation of satellites was discussed, namely revision of the Television without Borders Directive and French space legislation now in the approval phase. Regarding the latter, the Assembly mandated the Executive Secretary to inform French authorities of the new law’s possible impact on the ability of Eutelsat S.A. to continue respecting the Base Principles;
- A decision was made to submit to the Administrative Court of the International Labour Organisation the dispute over the pension funds of three former Eutelsat employees, in a case from prior to the organisation’s privatisation;
- Regarding the invoices to pay for Eutelsat satellite network notification vis-à-vis the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), it was noted that this issue would wait until the next ITU Council, which should make a decision, as consensual as possible, in September;
- As for the C Band and the future of fixed satellite service (FSS), the Executive Secretary was charged with monitoring developments in this area, still subject to debate in the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT);
- The Assembly approved the Executive Secretary's participation as an observer in the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS).
The next ordinary session of the AP has been scheduled for 13-14 May 2009.
