BEREC meeting with EP ITRE delegation has taken place at BEREC Office in Riga. Press release

A delegation from the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), has visited the BEREC Office and held a meeting with BEREC representatives.

The ITRE delegation was composed of:

-       Gunnar HÖKMARK - Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) (EPP) (Sweden);
-       Constanze KREHL - Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament Member      (S&D) (Germany);
-       Krišjānis KARIŅŠ - Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) (EPP), accompanying Member of host country Latvia; and
-       Mark BEAMISH - European Parliament, DG Internal Policies of the Union, Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.

Among the representatives of BEREC and the BEREC Office were:

-       Fátima BARROS - BEREC Chair 2015 and President of the Board of ANACOM;
-       Wilhelm ESCHWEILER - BEREC Vice-Chair 2015 and incoming Chair for 2016, Vice President of BNetzA;
-       Pedro FERREIRA - BEREC Contact Network Chair 2015 (ANACOM);
-       Annegret GROEBEL - BEREC Contact Network Chair 2016 (BNetzA);
-       László IGNÉCZI- BEREC Office Administrative Manager;
-       Panos KARAMINAS - Head of the Programme Management Unit of BEREC Office.

The first part of the visit was dedicated to the BEREC Office, the European agency located in Riga, Latvia. Fátima Barros, BEREC Chair 2015, welcomed the ITRE delegation to Riga and explained briefly the role of BEREC and of the BEREC Office.

During this session, László Ignéczi gave a comprehensive presentation on the BEREC Office identity and mission, highlighting the most significant activities performed by the Office in support of BEREC.

Panos Karaminas, Head of the Programme Management Unit of the BEREC Office, illustrated the main projects that are currently being carried out by the Office in the interest of BEREC.

In the following session, Fátima Barros presented an overview of BEREC’s responsibilities and achievements in the development and better functioning of the internal market for electronic communications networks and services in Europe.

Afterwards, a state of play regarding the “Telecom Single Market” proposal  was made.

Finally, a fruitful exchange of views was held on upcoming telecoms challenges. Looking forward to the Review of the European Framework on electronic communications in 2016, Fátima Barros stressed: “BEREC continues to be ready to deliver opinions to the European Parliament (and the other European Institutions) on any matter regarding electronic communications within its competence.”

At the end of the meeting, ITRE representatives and BEREC expressed their great satisfaction with the outcomes of the visit to the BEREC Office of a delegation of the European Parliament.

Riga, 8 April 2015

NOTE TO THE EDITOR

About BEREC

BEREC is composed of a Board of Regulators consisting of the Heads of the 28 national regulatory authorities (NRAs). BEREC advises the European Commission and its member NRAs, and assists the European Parliament and Council, on issues related to the application of the EU regulatory framework for electronic communications. BEREC seeks to ensure fair competition and consistency of regulation in the internal market for electronic communications, for the benefit of European consumers. In particular, it provides expert advice on market definitions, analysis and remedies, on the definition of transnational markets, and on cross-border disputes and numbering issues. BEREC also provides expert opinions on emerging challenges including the promotion of broadband, net neutrality and converging markets, and plays an active role in public discussions on these issues.

Glossary

BEREC: Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications;

BEREC Office: Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications;

ANACOM: Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM) is the Portuguese regulatory authority responsible for regulating postal and electronic communications;

BNetzA: The Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway, or Bundesnetzagentur as it is commonly known, promotes effective competition in the regulated areas and ensures non-discriminatory access to networks in Germany.

For further information:

[email protected]

Twitter official account @BERECeuropaeu

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