EU rejects changes to UN telecommunications treaty affecting internet governance

This news is a few weeks' old, but I think it is noteworth as indicative of the international power struggles going on regarding control over the Internet:

The EU, along with 54 other countries including the US and Canada, has declined to sign up to a revised version of the United Nations' International Telecommunication Regulations, a voluntary treaty aimed at regulating telecommunications around the world. The UN agency responsible for maintaining the treaty, the International Telecommunication Union, held a conference in early December 2012 to try to agree changes to the treaty to reflect the rise of the internet since the treaty was agreed in 1988. New provisions deal with the creation of a new, single worldwide telephone number to access emergency services, increased transparency of pricing for mobile roaming, and improvements to the energy-efficiency of IT networks, as well as more controversial measures relating to network security, spam email, access to other signatory countries' networks, and freedom of expression on the internet. The European Commission has indicated that its refusal to become a signatory arose from concerns for the continued openness of the internet.

It is interesting to compare press releases from the EU (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-12-991_en.htm?locale=en) and the ITU (http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2012/92.aspx) on this news.