External Cooperation

European Institutions

Cooperation with the European Union institutions (i.e. European Commission, Council and Parliament) does not fall within the scope of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) Medium Term Strategy for relations with other institutions 2022-2025 as BEREC’s commitment to liaise with these European Union bodies is mandated in the terms of Article 4(1) point a of Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the
Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office) - the 'BEREC Regulation'.

European Commission European Commission - EUROPA

European Commission - DG Connect

Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology
European Commission - DG Comp Directorate General for Competition
European Parliament European Parliament - EUROPA
European Parliament - ITRE Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
European Parliament - IMCO Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
European Council European Council - EUROPA

Cooperation with competent Union bodies, offices, agencies and advisory groups

While BEREC recognises that it is open to information-sharing with all of the institutional entities, it identifies thematic areas and relevant entities with which it can have a more intensive relationship. Within this intensified relationship, it is guided by the strategic objectives defined in the BEREC Strategy 2021-2025. BEREC’s Medium Term Strategy for relations with other institutions 2022-2025 specifies the strategic relations in more detail in chapter four. Those entities include:

Name Acronym
Radio Spectrum Policy Group RSPG
European Union Agency for Network and Internet Security ENISA
European Competent Authorities for Secure Electronic Communications Expert Group ECASEC EG
Network and Information Systems Cooperation Group NIS CG
Cost Reduction Sub-group of the Connectivity Special Group of COCOM CSG of COCOM
European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services ERGA
European Regulators Group for Postal Services ERGP
European Data Protection Board EDPB
European Competition Network ECN
European Environment Agency EEA
Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators ACER
Council of the European Energy Regulators CEER
European Telecommunications Standards Institute ETSI

Strategic relations with other institutions

BEREC maintains a relationship with a number of other bodies who provide valuable input but fall outside the scope of institutional cooperation and the remit of the Medium Term Strategy for relations with other institutions 2022-2025. These entities include:

  • nongovernmental organisations: including those entities that promote and safeguard the interests of end-users in various fields that intersect with BEREC’s work such as the internet, sustainability, standardisation, intellectual property law, safety and accessibility;
  • other organisations: BEREC also liaises with entities that focus on internet governance such as RIPE NCC and the Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries.
  • think tanks and research and academic institutions: BEREC liaises with think tanks and research and academic institutions in order to keep abreast with new developments in the electronic communications networks. Such collaboration has particularly been explored in recent work carried out by BEREC’s Sustainability Working Group.
Name Acronym
Internet Society ISOC
European Environmental Bureau EEB
European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation ANEC
European Emergency Number Association EENA
European Disability Forum EDF
RIPE Network Coordination Centre RIPE NCC
Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries CENTRE

Cooperation with independent National Regulatory Authorities and Regional Regulatory Networks

The European regulatory framework for electronic communications, to which BEREC contributes by aiming to ensure its consistent implementation, serves as an exemplary model, attracting the interest of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and regional authorities across the globe. This ensures that there are continuous exchanges with international parties, which seek information and clarifications on how various aspects of the European regulatory framework are implemented in practice.

The range of topics on which information is sought is broad and can extend to aspects of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code – the ‘EECC’ – such as wholesale access, end user protection, spectrum and universal service, as well as requests for information on the implementation of international roaming and Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 laying down measures concerning open internet access – the ‘Open Internet Regulation’. In addition to receiving requests for information, BEREC may wish to seek information on how regulatory policies are implemented in other regions. In other words, BEREC may wish to learn from the experiences of other bodies which are further along a particular regulatory path or to mutually exchange knowledge and understanding on a topic of common interest. In this context, BEREC may seek to exchange information and ideas with regulatory authorities or regional associations in relation to digital topics which deal with broader issues than ‘traditional’ electronic communications markets and services, and on which there is little practical regulatory experience. Those cooperating partners include:

Region Name Acronym
Eastern European Group of Eastern Partnership Regulators for Electronic Communications EaPeReg
Euro-Mediterranean European Mediterranean Regulators Group EMERG
European European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations CEPT
Africa Policy and Regulation Initiative for Digital Africa PRIDA
North America Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America FCC
North America Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission CRTC
Central and South America Latin America Forum of Telecommunications Regulators Regulatel
Asia Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI
Oceania Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ACCC
Oceania Commerce Commission (New Zealand) COMCOM

The Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) BEREC has signed with international bodies and other NRAs determine the priority and timing of the engagement and commitments to collaborate.

BEREC currently has MoUs with the regional and global organisations EaPeReg, EMERG, Regulatel, and the ITU. In addition, BEREC currently has MoUs with the NRAs TRAI and CRTC.

In addition to the organisations covered by the above MoUs, BEREC has also committed, at the request of the European Commission, to supporting the activities of PRIDA.