BEREC

On 6 October BEREC held a public debriefing of the 48th BEREC ordinary meeting. BEREC presented and discussed recent publications and launched public consultations.  

Public consultations

(*) Draft BEREC Work Programme 2022 (WP) presented by the incoming BEREC Chair 2022 - Annemarie Sipkes. BEREC invited the stakeholders and interested parties to provide their views and contributions to BEREC-WP-2022@berec.europa.eu. More information can be found here

Deadline for contributions: 5 November 2021.

Next steps: BEREC will launch the final WP on 15 December 2021.

(*) BEREC Report on the implementation of the Open Internet Regulation which can be downloaded here. BEREC invited the stakeholders to share the stakeholders to submit their inputs to ECJ_Inputs@berec.europa.eu. Meanwhile, BEREC is currently assessing the details of the filings issued by the Court of Justice regarding the violation of the Open Internet Regulation. More information can be found here.

Deadline for contributions: 20 October 2021.

Next steps:

March 2022 - launch of public consultation on the draft updated Guidelines.

June 2022 – publication of the final Guidelines and consultation report.

(*) BEREC Report on the regulatory treatment for fixed and mobile backhaul which can be found here. BEREC launched a public consultation on the document and invited the stakeholders to participate. The motivation for the report is that backhaul is especially relevant for the deployment of 5G and VHCH in rural/remote areas.

Deadline for contributions: 5 November 2021.

Next steps: The final report will be published after the first BEREC plenary in 2022.

BEREC reports which were discussed during the meeting

(*) BEREC Report on how to handle third-party payment charges on mobile phone bills which can be downloaded from here and BEREC Report on the outcome of public consultation on the Draft BEREC Report on the handling of third-party payment charges on mobile phone bills which can be downloaded from here.

(*) BEREC Report on the outcome of the public consultation on the Draft BEREC Report on the ex-ante regulation of digital gatekeepers which can be downloaded from here and BEREC Report on ex-ante regulation of digital gatekeepers which can be downloaded from here.

(*) BEREC Report on harmonised definitions regarding over-the top services, relevant to the electronic communications market which can be downloaded from here.

BEREC reports which were not discussed during the meeting

(*) BEREC's Medium-Term Strategy for international cooperation for the period 2022-2025 which can be downloaded here.

(*) BEREC Medium- Term Strategy for relations with other institutions 2022-2025 which can be downloaded from here.

(*) Second International Roaming BEREC Benchmark Data Report April 2020 - March 2021 which can be downloaded from here.

(*) Intra EU Communications BEREC Benchmark Data Report April 2019 - March 2020 which can be downloaded from here.

DIGITAL POLICIES IN THE COMMISSION’S WP 2022

EURACTIV published a leak information on the digital policies in the Commission's 2022 work programme (WP). According to the document the Commission plans to:

• put forth two Council recommendations - on digital skills and education, both of which are expected to be adopted in the third quarter of 2022.
• revise certain procedural aspects of EU merger control - the adoption is planned for June 2022.
• revise the notice of market definition - the adoption is planned for December 2022.
• to revise the State aid Guidelines for broadband networks.
• to adopt revised vertical block exemption regulation and vertical guidelines in May 2022.

The article  can be found here.

DIGITAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS

The European Commission launched a structured dialogue with the Member States on digital education and skills. The main objective of the initiative is to pave the way towards reaching the 2030 Digital Decade goals: to have 80% of the European citizens with basic digital skills and to have 20 million ICT specialists employed in the EU by 2030. The dialogue will include different branches and institutions of government, from education and training institutions to infrastructure providers, to private sector, social partners and civil society.

More information can be found here.

Next steps:

Until the end of 2022 - the structured dialogue will run.

By the end of 2022 - the Commission will propose concrete initiatives on enabling factors for digital education and skills based on the outcomes.

EUROPEAN EMERGENCY NUMBER 112

The European Commission launched a public consultation on improving the access through the single European emergency number 112. The objective of the initiative is to ensure that the emergency communication systems are effective as it comes to information on the location of the caller, the access for disabled people and directing communications to the most appropriate public safety answering point.

The stakeholder can provide their input here.

Deadline:

29 October 2021 (midnight Brussels time).

GENERAL BLOCK EXEMPTION REGULATION

The European Commission invited the Member States and the interested parties to comment on certain proposed amendments to the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). In particular, the Commission is proposing changes in areas where also the corresponding State aid Guidelines are being revised:

• aid from environmental protection and energy.
• aid for risk finance investment.
• regional aid.

More information can be found here.

Deadline: 8 December 2021.

Next steps:

First half of 2022: the adoption of the revised GBER.

DRONE STRATEGY 2.0 FOR EUROPE

The European Commission launched a public consultation on the Drone Strategy 2.0 for Europe. The initiative aims to enable drones to contribute, through digitalisation and automation, to a new offer of sustainable services and transport, while accounting for possible civil/military technological synergies.

The stakeholders can share their views here.

Consultation period:

08 October 2021 - 31 December 2021 (midnight Brussels time)

EU INSTITUTIONAL LIFE

The European Parliament was in a Plenary session this week. The MEPs debated on the impact of the energy costs and the possible options to address the crisis. MEPs also discussed the future EU's cybersecurity strategy and the shortcomings of the EU anti-money laundering rules.

More information can be found here.
The MEPs calendar can be found here.

Next week:

European Parliament committee meetings and groups.