ACCESS RECOMMENDATIONS

On 20 September the European Commission published the study on the regulatory incentives for deploying very high capacity networks: Commission's Access recommendations. A team led by Visionary Analytics conducted the study on behalf of the European Commission.

The objective of the study is to support the Commission in assessing the effects of the current Recommendations (the 2010 Next Generation Access (NGA) and the 2013 Non-discrimination and Costing Methodologies (NDCM) as well as exploring the need to revise the guidance in the field of access regulation. The results of the study will provide an evidence base for the development of a new Recommendation.

The study is based on six key areas:

• price control obligations, including pricing flexibility for NGA products.
• non-discrimination obligations.
• access to civil engineering infrastructures.
• migration from copper to fibre.
• cooperative arrangements and commercial initiative.
• geographic differentiation of the remedies.

The results suggest that the Access Recommendations need further refinement.

The full study and the executive summary can be downloaded from here.

Next steps (as announced during the Workshop by Visionary Analytics on 9 June 2021):

* The Commission will finalise the drafting of the new Recommendation.

* The Commission will publish the draft Recommendation and will hand it to BEREC for an opinion.

* 2022 - the Adoption of the Recommendation.

BEREC

Electromagnetic field information

BEREC published country-specific information of the National Regulatory Authorities and other competent authorities on electromagnetic field (EMF) related issues. The information aims to address the concerns about the risks of the exposure to EMF.

The country-specific information can be found here.

BEREC Stakeholder Forum (28 October 2021)

BEREC opened the registration for the BEREC Stakeholder Forum 2021. The event will be held in person for the first time in more than a year.

The incoming BEREC Chair, Annemarie Sipkes (ACM, the Netherlands), will present the draft BEREC Work Programme 2022. The participants will be able to join the discussion during the  Q&A sessions.

More information can be found here.
You can register for the event here.

EU INFRINGEMENT PROCEDURES

EU Electronic Communications Code

Member States should have transposed the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC - Directive (EU) 2018/1972) into national laws by 21 December 2020. In February 2021, the Commission sent letters to 24 Member Stats for not having notified  full transposition. The Commission is now taking the second step in the infringement procedure and sent a reasoned opinion to 18 Member States that have still not notified full transposition of the EECC  into their national law. The Commission notified the following countries: Estonia, Spain, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden.

The press release can be found here.

Next steps:

The Member States have two months to reply to the Commission.

EU RULES ON AUDIOVISUAL CONTENT

The European Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Member States which failed to provide information on the implementation of the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). The Commission notified the following countries: Czechia, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Slovenia and Slovakia.

The press release can be found here.

Next steps:

The Member States have two months to reply to the Commission.

Commission refers Poland to CJEU

The European Commission decided to refer Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for breaching the independence of the national telecommunications regulator - The Office of the Electronic Communications (UKE).

In May 2020 Poland amended certain provisions of the Polish telecommunications laws regarding the appointment and dismissal of the Heads of the Polish national regulatory authority, the Office of Electronic Communications. With the same amending legislation, the Polish government prematurely dismissed the Head of the Polish NRA as of May 2020, when his mandate should have lasted until September 2021.

The Commission sent a reasoned opinion regarding the matter in February 2021 and Poland provided a reply. However, the Commission found the explanations of Poland unsatisfactory  and decided to refer it to CJEU.

The press release can be found here.

COMMISSION BLOCKS PROPOSED IRISH REGULATION

On 20 September the European Commission issued a veto decision, blocking the Irish regulator, ComReg, from adopting its market review decision concerning the market for retail fixed telephony services and the corresponding wholesale markets in Ireland.

ComReg had proposed to lift regulation from the retail market for fixed voice telephony services and to re-impose regulatory obligations on the operator, Eircom, in sub-urban and rural areas, which cover more than one third of Irish premises.

The Commission considered that ComReg's definition of the product market is not sufficiently supported by the evidence presented (in particular on the constraints exerted by mobile on fixed voice calls) and that ComReg has inappropriately delineated the geographic market.

More information can be found here.

Next steps:

ComReg has to revisit its finidings in light of the Commission's objections and renotify the market review.

Proposal for a common charger for e-devices

On 23 September the European Commission proposed a revised Radio Equipment Directive in order to establish a common charging solution for all relevant devices.

The Commission put forward the following proposals:

• a harmonised standard charging port for all all electronic devices: USB-C.
• unbundling the sale of chargers from the sale of electronic devices so that the consumers will be able to purchase a new electronic device without a new charger.
• improving the information for the consumers about the charging performance.

Next steps:

The adoption of the proposal by the European Parliament and the Council.

The Commission also invited the stakeholders to provide their feedback on the proposal for a Directive 2014/53/EU on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment.

The press release and the published documents can be found here.
The stakeholders can provide their input here.

Feedback period:

23 September 2021 - 18 November 2021.

EU INSTITUTIONAL LIFE

From 20 to 24 September MEPs were in a "green" week meaning that they were engaged with external parliamentary activities.

You can check the MEPs calendar here.

Next week:

27 - 30 September - Committee meetings.

The ITRE Committee meeting agenda

The ITRE Committee will go over the amendments of the Roaming Regulation and will discuss the recently published proposal on establishing the 2030 Digital Decade policy programme with the Commissioner Mariya Gabriel.

The meeting agenda and the documents can be found here.

Date of the meeting: 27 September 2021.

The IMCO Committee meeting agenda

The IMCO Committee will go over the amendments of the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act.

The meeting agenda and the documents can be found here.

Date of the meeting: 27 September 2021.