By Editor

In Slovenia, the adoption of the law on electronic communications, which must be adopted also because it will finally transfer the European directive on electronic communications into the Slovenian legal order, has been ongoing for a long time.

The competent parliamentary committee has recently adopted the proposal for a new law on electronic communications, including as many as 73 amendments, proposed by coalition parties. Key amendments address the topics of independence of national regulator (AKOS), several improvements on consumer rights, as also network security.

After Janša's government planned to follow US policy on Chinese tech giant and label Huawei as a high-risk vendor, limiting from participation in future deliveries of equipment for the 5G network, the current government has taken more neutral approach to the draft law on electronic communications. The current liberal oriented Slovenian government has amended the draft and together with oposition finished the second phase of Parliamentary process the proposal for a new law on electronic communications, in which approach known as "technology neutrality" has been taken, thus assessing the potential threat from the specific equipment, rather labeling vendors.

Similar approach has been implemented in Germany, Finland, and Austria in the last year (both, Germany and Austria, are within top 5 key Slovenian trade partners).

Government position was reassured by the governmental office for communication (UKOM), commenting for newspaper Dnevnik, that regarding the question of its position towards Huawei and its interests in the supply of telecommunications equipment in the establishment of a 5G network on EU territory, "we clarify that all suppliers must be guaranteed a level playing field and that the government does not have any pre-fabricated position towards any actual or potential provider of telecommunications equipment".

The draft law, which has now been adopted by the competent committee, has therefore been amended on security requirements for operators providing networks to critical infrastructure managers. The new security requirements refer to the prohibition of the use of certain equipment that could threaten national security, but no longer to certain high-risk suppliers. However, there were also changes to the provisions that the European Commission and the Legislative Legal Service highlighted as controversial, as well as those provisions on the reasons for the dismissal of the head of AKOS. It's expected that the law will be passed at the final voting before end of the month.