BEREC assesses the impact of the recent Court of Justice of the EU judgements on the Open Internet Regulation

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) takes note of the three judgements issued by the Court of Justice of the EU on 2 September regarding violation of the European Union net neutrality rules. The CJEU judgements state that the practices by two German mobile operators (Telekom Deutschland and Vodafone) are incompatible with the EU Open Internet Regulation.

BEREC aims at fostering the independent, consistent and high-quality regulation of digital markets for the benefit of Europe and its citizens. To contribute to the consistent application of the Open Internet Regulation and promote an effective internal market in the electronic communications sector, Article 5(3) of the Open Internet Regulation explicitly obliges BEREC to issue guidelines for implementing the obligations of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) under the Regulation. In 2020, BEREC reviewed the Open Internet Guidelines in accordance with its mandate under the Open Internet Regulation. Since 2017, BEREC has annually published Reports on the implementation of the Open Internet Regulation, monitoring and ensuring compliance with the Regulation. BEREC and its members also discuss cases and questions to ensure a predictable and consistent application of the Open Internet Regulation.

The BEREC Guidelines will need to be reviewed in light of the Court’s decision to reflect the interpretation of the CJEU ruling. 

To express the ramifications of the judgements on the European legal framework and the BEREC Guidelines on the Implementation of the Open Internet Regulation, BEREC is currently analysing the ruling. The Board of Regulators will discuss the potential implications and next steps during its 48^th BEREC ordinary meeting on 30 September 2021. The outcomes of the discussion on the incorporation of the CJEU ruling in the BEREC Guidelines on the Implementation of the Open Internet will be presented by the BEREC Chair 2021 during BEREC’s public debriefing on 6 October 2021.