BEREC

BEREC Stakeholder Forum

On 28 October BEREC held a Stakeholder Forum in which ecta Director General Luc Hindryckx participated in the panel discussion "Study on regulatory incentives for deploying very high capacity network: Commission's Access Recommendations". ecta Director General Luc Hindryckx highlighted that the European Commission should launch a public consultation on the draft text in order to preserve the principles of democracy, transparency and good governance.

More information on the event and a video from it can be found here.

 

OPEN INTERNET REGULATION

On 28 October BEREC published the received stakeholders' input to feed into the incorporation of the ECJ judgments on the Open Internet Regulation in the BEREC Guidelines.

The published responses can be found here.

Next steps:

9-11 March 2022 - the draft of the reviewed Guidelines will be adopted for a public consultation.

 

ROAMING REGULATION

The first trilogue discussion on the proposal for a Regulation on Roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union started on 26 October 2021 as announced in a Twitter publication from the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. We recall that the ITRE Committee adopted its report  on the Roaming Regulation on 14 October 2021.

The tweet can be found here.

Next steps:

After the trilogue negotiations, the proposal will be submitted and voted in Plenary.

CYBERSECURITY

Delegated act to the Radio Equipment Directive

On 29 October the European Commission adopted a delegated act to the Radio Equipment Directive which aims to make sure that all wireless devices are safe before being sold on the EU market. The delegated act complements the Cyber Resilience Act and follows the actions announced in the new EU Cybersecurity Strategy.

The act lays down new legal requirements for cybersecurity safeguards, which manufacturers will have to take into account in the design and production of the concerned products. The new measures will help to:

• Improve network resilience.
• Better protect consumers' privacy.
• Reduce the risk of monetary fraud.

The measures will cover wireless devices such as mobile phones, tablets and other products capable of communicating over the internet; toys and childcare equipment such as baby monitors; as well as a range of wearable equipment such as smart watches or fitness trackers.

More information can be found here.

Next steps:

The delegated act will come into force following a two-month scrutiny period, should the Council and Parliament not raise any objections.

Measures for a high common level of cybersecurity

The ITRE Committee adopted on 28 October a new draft legislation on the Measures for a high common level of cybersecurity which aims to strengthen EU-wide requirements against threats. According to the adopted text the EU countries would have to meet stricter supervisory and enforcement measures, and harmonise their sanctions regimes.

The new draft legislation sets tighter requirements for business, administrations and states - the requirements include incident response, supply chain security, encryption and vulnerability disclosure, among other provisions.

The press release can be found here.

Next steps:

10 November 2021 - the mandate will be announced in the Plenary session.

RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PLANS

As of 28 October the EU Ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs confirmed that 22 National Recovery and Resilience Plans have already been approved. 17 Member States have already received the advance payment. This means that the channelling of funds into investments and reforms that will further support the recovery is already underway.

More information can be found here.

Next steps:

Achievement of the milestones and targets set out in the Member State national plans.

EU LEADERS DISCUSSED THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The Council of the EU published the main results from the European Council's meeting from 21-22 October. The EU leaders discussed, among other topics, the EU's digital transformation.

The European Council called for a swift examination of the Commission's proposal for the policy programme "Path to the Digital Decade" and encouraged the Council and the Parliament to reach an agreement on the Roaming Regulation, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act as soon as possible.

EU leaders also stressed the need to make rapid progress on initiatives relating to a roadmap for establishing specific sectoral data spaces and a European Digital Identity framework.

The European Council also called for work to be advanced on the proposal for a revised Directive on the Security of Network and Information Systems, the proposed Directive on the Resilience of Critical Entities and the Cyber Diplomacy Toolbox, and for an EU cybersecurity crisis management framework to be developed further.

More information can be found here.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The ITRE Committee

On 28 October the ITRE Committee had a meeting in which the MEPs voted on the report regarding Measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union (see the article above) and on the agenda of ITRE's next meeting in which the IMCO's opinion on the Contestable and fair markets in the digital sector (Digital Markets Act) will be included.

The MEPs also discussed a Study on Europe's Digital Decade and Autonomy which has been prepared under the guidance of the Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies.

More information can be found here.

Next committee meeting: 9 November 2021.

The IMCO Committee

On 27 October the IMCO Committee had a meeting in which the MEPs considered the compromise amendments to the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. The European Commission also presented a presentation on the proposal for a Regulation establishing a framework for a European Digital Identity.

More information can be found here.

Next committee meeting: 8 November 2021.

Next week: 1-5 November 2021

The MEPs will be engaged with external activities.

The MEPs calendar can be found here.

STATE OF THE ENERGY UNION 2021

On 26 October the European Commission published a report on the State of the Union of 2021. The report shows that the renewables overtook the fossil fuels as the number one power source in the EU for the first time in 2020, generating 38% of electricity, compared to 37% for fossil fuels.

The press release can be found here.

INNOVATIVE CLEAN TECH PROJECTS

On 26 October the European Commission launched the second call for projects under the Innovation Fund that will finance breakthrough technologies for renewable energy, energy-intensive industries, energy storage, and carbon capture, use and storage.

The press release can be found here.

Next steps:

3 March 2022 - the deadline for the submission of applications.