"It is possible to split up the different elements," Selmayr said, pointing out that this is what happened in 2002 when lawmakers failed to agree on privacy issues. The privacy aspects were carved out from the old telecom package of legislation, allowing all the other parts to be agreed upon. The privacy issues were then settled six months later.

However, the framework directive includes two key aspects of the latest reforms: the distribution of radio spectrum that has been freed up by the move from spectrum-hungry analog TV to the more efficient digital TV -- the so-called digital dividend -- and guidelines for encouraging the roll-out of next-generation, super-fast broadband networks. These bits of the reforms promise some of the greatest economic benefits of the whole telecom package. And they can't be split away from the Internet access question, Selmayr said.

Telecom ministers from the 27 national governments are due to meet in Brussels on June 12. Until now there was nothing much slated on the agenda. But the vote in the Parliament Wednesday changed that. Now ministers will have to decide whether to accept the Parliament's terms on Internet access, or else allow a much-needed tool for economic recovery to slip through their fingers.

"The ball is in the national governments' court now," Reding said. No doubt she will be courtside between now and then, urging the telecom ministers on.