BEREC and EaPeReg discuss future cooperation

On 10 November in Riga, Latvia, BEREC and the Eastern Partnership Regulators for Electronic Communications (EaPeReg) held a joint summit to discuss the future perspectives of cooperation. The event was a valuable opportunity to enhance the regulatory dialogue between the European national regulatory authorities (NRAs) and their counterparts from the Eastern Partnership countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. 

After welcome of the chairs of both the regulator´s networks and the minister of transport of Latvia, Tālis Linkaits, the joint summit was opened with keynote speeches by the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi and the State secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Andris Pelšs. During the session on future perspectives, the summit delegates discussed the Eastern Partnership's crucial elements in the telecommunications and digital economy sector.

The increasing convergence of issues faced in electronic communications between the EU and the rest of the world shows the global nature of these services and means that policies, legislation and regulation must be seen from a more global perspective. BEREC benefits from cooperation with NRAs and other international regulatory networks, policymakers, and institutions involved in communications matters beyond the EU. 

Annemarie Sipkes, BEREC Chair said: “International cooperation and knowledge sharing are key to strengthening our strategic autonomy and effectively tackling the challenges that we face as regulators in the digital world.”

The EaPeReg Chair Garegin Baghramyan said, "For the National Authorities regulating telecommunication sector localization and implementation of international best practices of regulation of the sector is pivotal in order to implement effective regulation that goes in line with the development of telecommunication sector. In this context, the cooperation of such accomplished institutions of telecom regulators as BEREC and EaPeReg is of high importance, which gives an opportunity for the exchange of best practices as well as a possibility to cope with the challenges of the sector based on common discussions and actions." 

In 2019, BEREC and EaPeReg signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The goal is to encourage a cooperative relationship between the parties that supports the efforts to address current and future regulatory challenges and to develop collegial working relationships between experts representing both sides.