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However, pressure groups claim the body's formation infringes upon privacy, and even calls upon communication providers to spy on customers.

According to the EU, the body will call for incentives to invest in new infrastructure, and is targeted to improve consumers' rights. The organisation insists that its member states must co-operate with each other in the strategic planning and co-ordination of radio spectrum use to enable citizens to benefit from services such as mobile broadband use.

The EU also says the collective power of such
a body would be instrumental in encouraging governments to invest in next generation access networks.

However, according to campaigners, some of the issues on the body's agenda encourage a "censorship environment". The Foundation of Free Internet Infrastructure (FFII) claims the establishment of the

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body would lead to a "Soviet Internet", with only government- approved services and software allowed to run.

"Tomorrow, popular software applications like Skype or even Firefox might be declared illegal in Europe if they are not certified by an administrative authority," said Benjamin Henrion, FFII representative in Brussels. "This is compromising the whole open development of the internet as we know it today."

Privacy expert Ricardo Cristof Remmert-Fontes goes as far as suggesting the body's proposals make corporations spying on consumers a "natural obligation". "In Germany Deutsche Telekom is under fierce criticism for alleged spying on citizens and journalists," he said.

"In Europe the amendments want to make spying a natural obligation for communications providers. The planned infrastructure of live-analysis and filtering can be used for mass-surveillance and censorship."

Meanwhile, FFII president Alberto Barrionuevo has accused the EU of pandering to the concerns of music and movie companies at the expense of the privacy of European consumers and businesses.

"The proposed environment is threatening all European businesses which need protection from business espionage, and to be able to use secure virtual private networks all over the internet," he said. "Are industrial secrets of our European companies and privacy of our citizens to be sacrificed just to preserve legacy business models of Hollywood?"