BEREC events 2021

On 28 April 2021, 14:00 - 16:30 CEST, BEREC organised a public online Workshop on Market Entry in the context of the Digital Markets Act.
This BEREC public workshop on market entry aimed to collect input from stakeholders’ associations and some key potential challengers to digital gatekeepers on the issue of contestability that BEREC considers very relevant in the medium and long term. The workshop was livestreamed.

Background:
The European Commission published a Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposal on 15 December 2020, introducing a series of rules for platforms acting as gatekeepers in the digital sector. In March 2021, BEREC adopted an Opinion on the DMA together with a draft Report on the ex ante regulation of digital gatekeepers (which is currently open for public consultation), further elaborating BEREC’s proposals. In September 2020, BEREC already proposed a model for an ex ante intervention in its response to the Digital Service Act Package and the New Competition Tool public consultations.

The workshop:
In the first session (14:00 – 14:45 CET), after the introductory remarks by the BEREC Chair 2021, Michel Van Bellinghen and the Co-chairs of the BEREC Market and Economic Analysis working group, Carlos Zorrinho (S&D), Member of the European Parliament and ITRE Committee rapporteur for the opinion on the DMA, presented the EP’s state of play regarding the Digital Markets Act. The European Commission’s Head of Unit of DG CONNECT’s Unit F.2 ‘E-Commerce and Platforms’, Prabhat Agarwal, spoke then about how the DMA may address market entry issues.

The second session (14:45 – 16:30 CET) featured a stakeholders’ round table where industry associations and alternative platforms presented their positions. This round table was structured around key questions that touch on factors which may limit competition and how the DMA could be improved to ensure market contestability. The workshop was closed with a round of questions and answers.

The event was held online, and the stakeholders were invited to register their interest to participate. The event was streamed via the dedicated streaming platform.

Participants attending the event had the option to send questions in advance via email to [email protected], via the registration form, and via chat box during the event.

BEREC strongly encouraged interested stakeholders to participate also in the public consultation on its draft report on the ex-ante regulation of digital gatekeepers (open for consultation until 4 May 2021, COB).

Selected BEREC references on topics related to the DMA

Published work

• Draft BEREC Report on the ex-ante regulation of digital gatekeepers (2021) (under public consultation until 4 May)
• For a swift, effective and future-proof regulatory intervention: BEREC Opinion on the European Commission’s proposal for a Digital Markets Act (2021)
• BEREC Response to the Public consultation on the DSA/NCT (2020)
• BEREC Report on the Data Economy (2019)
• BEREC preliminary report on the harmonised collection of data from OTT operators (2019)
• BEREC report on the impact of premium content on ECS markets and the effect of devices on the open use of the Internet (2018)
• BEREC Report on OTT services (2016)

Current work

• BEREC Study on consumers’ behaviour towards digital platforms as a means for communication – to be published in June 2021
• BEREC Report on the Internet value chain – workshops with stakeholders in summer/autumn 2021, draft report for public consultation in March 2022

Watch the recorded video of the event