[A2k] European Regulators Group/BEREC

[Soenke Zehle]

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From:  <ERG-SECRETARIAT@ec.europa.eu>
Date: 2010/1/29
Subject: European Regulators Group/BEREC
To: ERG-SECRETARIAT@ec.europa.eu

BEREC - NEW EU COMMUNICATIONS BODY ESTABLISHED

As announced on the ERG Website the ERG held an Extraordinary Plenary
Session in Brussels, yesterday 28 January 2010, to inaugurate (BEREC)
Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, and have
issued the following Press Release here below to establish the new
Communications Body.

<<BOR(10) 05 Press Release.pdf>>

BEREC - NEW EU COMMUNICATIONS BODY - IS ESTABLISHED
January 28th, 2010

Following the establishment of the Body of European Regulators for
Electronic Communications
(BEREC) and the associated Office last December, the European
Regulators Group held an
extraordinary meeting today (Thursday, 28 January) in Brussels. This
meeting put in place the
necessary arrangements which will allow BEREC, the new body for
co-operation among European
National Regulatory Authorities and which provides advice to the
European Institutions, to begin its
work.

Today=E2=80=99s meeting dealt with a range of issues necessary for the
establishment of BEREC which
replaces the European Regulators Group and assumes responsibility for
additional tasks. The full
range of tasks will be realised when the recently adopted Telecoms
Package is transposed into
national law by May 2011.

The agenda for the meeting included the following issues.

=EF=82=B7 The adoption of the Rules of Procedure for BEREC
=EF=82=B7 The election of the Chairs 2010 and 2011, and Vice Chairs for 201=
0
=EF=82=B7 A decision to consult on the draft BEREC work programme for 2010
=EF=82=B7 The recruitment procedure for the Administrative Manager of the O=
ffice
=EF=82=B7 Budget for 2010 and 2011

At the meeting John Doherty, chair of ComReg, the Irish communications
regulator, was elected as
the chairperson of BEREC for 2010 and Chris Fonteijn, chair of OPTA,
the Dutch regulator, was
elected chairperson for 2011 and automatically becomes a vice chair
for 2010. In addition, two
other vice chairs were elected for 2010. These are Reinaldo Rodriguez
Illera, president of the Spanish
regulator, CMT and Matthias Kurth, president of the German Regulator, BNetz=
A.

The meeting also decided to hold a public consultation on its draft
2010 work programme, based on
the work programme adopted by the ERG. This public consultation will
give all stakeholders
throughout the EU the opportunity to make their views known about the
work that will be
undertaken by BEREC.

The meeting also decided to immediately initiate the process for the
recruitment of an
Administrative Manager of the Office, which will provide professional
and administrative support to
BEREC. In relation to this issue, BEREC endorsed the previously
expressed ERG view that locating its
secretariat in Brussels is the best way to achieve the effective and
efficient functioning of BEREC.

The reasons why Brussels is the preferred location include:

Page 2

- Proximity to the EU Institutions is crucial to the successful
operation of BEREC. One of the
roles of the Office is to facilitate BEREC=E2=80=99s communication with the=
 EU
Institutions, and its co-location
with those Institutions is therefore important to enable it to carry
out its role fully.

- Proximity to BEREC=E2=80=99s Expert Working Groups, which the Office is
responsible for helping to
set up and support, is also crucial. Brussels has been, and is likely
to remain, the preferred location
for meetings of BEREC Expert Working Groups, given the need for close
co-operation between
BEREC and the Commission under the revised Framework and, in
particular, under the new market
review procedures.

- Transparency and Interaction with Stakeholders. The Office will also
help ensure that
BEREC=E2=80=99s activities are transparent to stakeholders and to help BERE=
C
be responsive to them.
Locating the Office in Brussels would make BEREC easily accessible to
stakeholder organisations, as
well as the many media outlets with European operations, based in Brussels.

The incoming chair of BEREC, John Doherty said: =E2=80=9CThe establishment =
of
BEREC is a significant
development in the evolution of electronic communications sector
throughout the EU. It will
contribute to achieving the goal of a single market for European
electronic communications. The
creation of BEREC will give national regulators throughout the
European Union a formal role at the
highest level in the EU to bring about change and reform to the
benefit of industry and consumers.
=E2=80=9C2010 will be a very challenging year for the electronic
communications sector throughout Europe.
BEREC will play a full role in ensuring the further development of the
EU-wide communications
market for the benefit of all consumers and businesses.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CDevelopments are taking place across a range of markets, with
consumers being offered a greater
range of services due to changes in technology, growing convergence
and enhanced competition.
The purpose of BEREC is to ensure the consistent application
throughout the EU of the regulatory
framework for electronic communications networks and services. As part
of its activities during
2010, BEREC will hold a public consultation on its work programme.=E2=80=9D

NOTES FOR EDITORS

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC)
and the Office were
established by the Regulation (EC) No. 1211/2009 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of
25 November 2009. BEREC is comprised of a Board of Regulators
consisting of Heads of 27 national
regulatory authorities (NRAs). The EU Commission, EFTA States
(Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and
Liechtenstein and three EU candidate States (Turkey, Croatia and the
Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia) participate as observers to the Board of Regulators. The
roles and tasks of BEREC are
set out in articles 2 and 3 of the Regulation. The Office is a
Community Body established by the
same Regulation in order to provide professional and administrative
support to BEREC.

For more information please contact:

irg@irg.eu Tel +32 (0)2 210 60 70 - Website www.irg.eu
erg-secretariat@ec.europa.eu Tel +32 (0) 2 29 56462 =E2=80=93Website
http://erg.ec.europa.eu

More information on the new regulation can be found here

ERG Secretariat
B-1049 Brussels
Office: BU 33 - 06/044=C2=A0 (33 Ave Beaulieu)
Tel: +(32-2) 29 56462
Fax: +(32-2) 29 64121
erg@ec.europa.eu
http://erg.ec.europa.eu/