BEREC adopts proposals to contribute to the debate on the Digital Markets Act

At the 47th ordinary meeting, BEREC adopted two proposals to further contribute to the debate on the European Commission’s (EC) Digital Markets Act (DMA). One proposal focuses  on remedy-tailoring and the need for structured participation processes involving stakeholders, while the second one develops on the set-up of an Advisory Board in the DMA. 

Proposal on remedy-tailoring

In this proposal, BEREC explains why and how, on top of the directly-applicable obligations, ex ante principles and a set of  remedies (‘toolbox’) should be included in the DMA proposal in order to make this regulation future-proof and fit for purpose in such fast-evolving digital environments.  

Building on its experience in imposing regulatory measures on specific service providers (asymmetric regulation), BEREC presents the rationale and advantages of defining ex ante principles in the law and tailoring appropriate remedies to address new and unforeseen practices and to appropriately tackle the challenges that gatekeepers may raise in the (near) future. 
Moreover, for the DMA regulatory intervention to be effective, and thus irrespective of the proposal of remedy-tailoring, BEREC also suggests that a structured regulatory dialogue should take place involving all relevant types of stakeholders and that dispute resolution mechanisms could be set up. 

Proposal on the set-up of an Advisory Board in the DMA

The BEREC position paper on the set-up of an Advisory Board in the DMA develops on the merits of establishing an Advisory Board to the EC. It would be composed of National Independent Authorities (NIAs) with relevant and cross-sectoral expertise to support the EC in enforcing the DMA Regulation and, thus, complement the Digital Markets Act Committee (DMAC). 

The NIAs in the Advisory Board would contribute to the enforcement of the Regulation thanks to, inter alia, the advantage of their constant interaction with national players and users, the constant monitoring of markets and innovations (which is already part of their daily activities) and their existing expertise in ex ante regulation.

As to the Advisory Board’s features, BEREC refers to positive experiences with similar advisory bodies to the EC currently in place, also mentioning the positive experience in the electronic communications field. As for its juridical form, BEREC suggests drawing inspiration from its own original and innovative layout, which preserves operational flexibility and effectiveness and ensures that regulatory decisions are coherent and consistent across Europe. 

Finally, BEREC also provides a relevant list of tasks that the Advisory Board could carry out (among which coordinated data collection and monitoring throughout the EU, raising awareness on specific concerns or issues emerged at national level, ensure that DMA decisions are coherent with other related regulation, support the EC in checking compliance with the obligations defined at EU level, …).

Opportunity for questions

During the BEREC public debriefing on 16 June 2021, at 14:00 CEST, the BEREC Chair together with the Working Group Co-chairs will present the adopted documents and answer questions received from the participants.