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* EU Commission wants common market for telecoms, Internetservices
* Commission says plan could boost economy by 4 percent
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Creating a single telecomsmarket in Europe and cutting the cost of doing business over theInternet could boost the region's economy by 4 percent by 2020,the European Commission will tell EU leaders this week.
The push from the European Union's executive, when EUleaders meet on Oct. 24-25, comes as Neelie Kroes, the EU'stelecoms commissioner, makes a fresh attempt to overhaul thebloc's telecoms sector.
Following Brussels' success in curbing the cost of usingmobile phone use, she now wants to cap the price of cross-borderfixed-line calls in Europe, where the commission says technologyand telecommunications make a smaller contribution to theeconomy than in the United States or China.
Kroes also wants EU veto power over national auctions ofmobile spectrum, and to make it easier for operators to chargecompanies such as Google more for carrying heavy loads of dataat high speeds.
But her blueprint needs the blessing of 28 EU governmentsbefore it can become law. Time is running out because lawmakersin the European Parliament, who also need to sign off on thelaw, break up in April for elections in May.
In a letter late last month to EU leaders, EuropeanCommission President Jose Manuel Barroso spelt out hispriorities in the sector.
"Digital services and telecommunications are crucial driversof growth and productivity across all sectors of our economies," he wrote.
"However, we are not yet getting the most out of thepotential for our single market in telecommunications and onlineand in these industries the EU is losing ground to ourinternational competitors."
In a report that will be presented to EU leaders, theCommission will outline the potential benefits.
"By 2020, Europe could add 4 percent to its GDP bystimulating the fast development of the digital single market,"officials write in the report, seen by Reuters.
Public authorities could cut costs by 15-20 percent bymoving to e-government, they add.
Barroso's drive may be greeted with scepticism. Kroes hasbeen criticised by national regulators who are concerned aboutlosing power to Brussels, and companies have also been lukewarm.
