Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office), amending Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009 (Text with EEA relevance)
(a) to assist and advise the NRAs, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, and cooperate with the NRAs and the Commission, upon request or on its own initiative, on any technical matter regarding electronic communications within its competence; (b) to assist and advise the Commission, upon request, in relation to the preparation of legislative proposals in the field of electronic communications, including on any proposed amendment of this Regulation or of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (c) to issue opinions as referred to in Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972, in particular on: (i) the resolution of cross-border disputes, in accordance with Article 27 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (ii) draft national measures related to the internal market procedures for market regulation, in accordance with Articles 32, 33 and 68 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (iii) draft decisions and recommendations on harmonisation, in accordance with Articles 38 and 93 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (iv) end-to-end connectivity between end-users, in accordance with Article 61(2) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (v) the determination of a single maximum Union-wide mobile voice termination rate and a single maximum Union-wide fixed voice termination rate, in accordance with Article 75 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (vi) the contract summary template, in accordance with Article 102 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (vii) the national implementation and functioning of the general authorisation, and their impact on the functioning of the internal market, in accordance with Article 122(3) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (viii) where relevant, the market and technological developments regarding the different types of electronic communications services and their impact on the application of Title III of Part III of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, in accordance with Article 123(1) of that Directive;
(d) to issue guidelines on the implementation of the Union regulatory framework for electronic communications, in particular, as referred to in Regulations (EU) No 531/2012 and (EU) 2015/2120 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972, on: (i) the notification template, in accordance with Article 12 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (ii) the consistent implementation of obligations as regards geographical surveys and forecasts, in accordance with Article 22 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (iii) relevant criteria to foster the consistent application of Article 61(3) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (iv) common approaches to the identification of the network termination point in different network topologies, in accordance with Article 61(7) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (v) common approaches to meet transnational end-user demand, in accordance with Article 66 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (vi) minimum criteria for a reference offer, in accordance with Article 69 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (vii) the fostering of the consistent application by NRAs of the conditions set out in Article 76(1) of, and the criteria set out in Annex IV to, Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (viii) criteria for a network to be considered a very high capacity network, in accordance with Article 82 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (ix) common criteria for the assessment of the ability to manage numbering resources and of the risk of exhaustion of numbering resources, in accordance with Article 93 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (x) relevant quality of service parameters, the applicable measurement methods, the content and format of publication of the information, and quality certification mechanisms, in accordance with Article 104 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (xi) how to assess whether the effectiveness of public warning systems under Article 110(2) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 is equivalent to the effectiveness of those under paragraph 1 of that Article; (xii) wholesale roaming access, in accordance with Article 3(8) of Regulation (EU) No 531/2012; (xiii) the implementation of NRAs’ obligations as regards open internet access, in accordance with Article 5(3) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2120; (xiv) the parameters to be taken into account by NRAs in their assessment of the sustainability of the domestic charging model, in accordance with Article 5a(6) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2120;
(e) to issue other guidelines ensuring the consistent implementation of the regulatory framework for electronic communications and consistent regulatory decisions by the NRAs, on its own initiative or upon the request of an NRA, the European Parliament, the Council or the Commission, in particular for regulatory issues affecting a significant number of Member States or with a cross-border element; (f) where relevant, to participate in the Peer Review Forum on draft measures on selection procedures, in accordance with Article 35 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (g) to participate on issues concerning its competence relating to market regulation and competition related to radio spectrum, in accordance with Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (h) to conduct analyses of potential transnational markets in accordance with Article 65 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 and of transnational end-user demand, in accordance with Article 66 of that Directive; (i) to monitor and collect information and, where relevant, make up-to-date information publicly available on the application of Regulation (EU) No 531/2012, in accordance with Articles 16 and 19 thereof; (j) to report on technical matters within its competence, in particular on: (i) the practical application of the opinions and guidelines referred to in points (c), (d) and (e); (ii) Member States’ best practices to support the defining of adequate broadband internet access service, in accordance with Article 84 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (iii) the evolution of pricing and consumption patterns both for domestic and roaming services, the evolution of actual wholesale roaming rates for unbalanced traffic, the relationship between retail prices, wholesale charges and wholesale costs for roaming services as well as on transparency and comparability of tariffs, in accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 531/2012; (iv) the outcomes of the annual reports that NRAs shall provide in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2120, through the publication of an annual synthesis report; (v) the market developments in the electronic communications sector, on an annual basis;
(k) to issue recommendations and common positions, and disseminate regulatory best practices addressed to the NRAs in order to encourage the consistent and better implementation of the regulatory framework for electronic communications; (l) to establish and maintain a database of: (i) the notifications transmitted to the competent authorities by undertakings subject to general authorisation, in accordance with Article 12 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (ii) the numbering resources with a right of extraterritorial use within the Union, in accordance with the fourth subparagraph of Article 93(4) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (iii) where relevant, E.164 numbers of Member State emergency services, in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 109(8) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972;
(m) to evaluate the needs for regulatory innovation and coordinate actions between NRAs to enable the development of new innovative electronic communications; (n) to promote the modernisation, coordination and standardisation of the collection of data by NRAs, such data being made available to the public in an open, reusable and machine-readable format on the BEREC website and the European data portal, without prejudice to intellectual property rights, personal data protection rules and the required level of confidentiality; (o) to carry out other tasks assigned to it by legal acts of the Union, in particular by Regulations (EU) No 531/2012 and (EU) 2015/2120 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972.
(a) to provide professional and administrative support services to BEREC, in particular in fulfilling its regulatory tasks pursuant to Article 4; (b) to collect information from NRAs and to exchange and transmit information in relation to the regulatory tasks assigned to BEREC pursuant to Article 4; (c) to produce, on the basis of the information referred to in point (b), regular draft reports on specific aspects of developments in the European electronic communications market, such as roaming and benchmarking reports, to be submitted to BEREC; (d) to disseminate regulatory best practices among NRAs, in accordance with point (k) of Article 4(1); (e) to assist BEREC in establishing and maintaining registries and databases, in accordance with point (l) of Article 4(1); (f) to assist BEREC in establishing and managing an information and communications system, in accordance with Article 41; (g) to assist BEREC in conducting public consultations, in accordance with Article 4(5); (h) to assist in the preparation of the work and provide other administrative and content-related support to ensure the smooth functioning of the Board of Regulators; (i) to assist in setting up working groups, upon the request of the Board of Regulators, contribute to the regulatory work and provide administrative support to ensure the smooth functioning of those groups; (j) to carry out other tasks assigned to it by this Regulation or by other legal acts of the Union.
(a) a Board of Regulators; (b) working groups.
(a) to fulfil the regulatory tasks of BEREC set out in Article 4, namely to adopt the opinions, guidelines, reports, recommendations and common positions and disseminate best practices referred to in that Article, relying, in doing so, on the preparatory work carried out by the working groups; (b) to take administrative decisions relating to the organisation of BEREC’s work; (c) to adopt BEREC’s annual work programme as referred to in Article 21; (d) to adopt BEREC’s annual report on its activities as referred to in Article 22; (e) to adopt rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interests as referred to in Article 42, as well as in respect of members of the working groups; (f) to adopt detailed rules on the right of access to documents held by BEREC in accordance with Article 36; (g) to adopt and regularly update the communication and dissemination plans as referred to in Article 37(2), based on an analysis of needs; (h) to adopt, acting by a two-thirds majority of its members, and make public, its rules of procedure; (i) to authorise, together with the Director, the conclusion of working arrangements with competent Union bodies, offices, agencies and advisory groups and with competent authorities of third countries and with international organisations in accordance with Article 35; (j) to set up working groups and appoint their Chairs; (k) to provide the Director of the BEREC Office with guidance with regard to the carrying out of the tasks of the BEREC Office.
(a) a Management Board; (b) a Director.
(a) to provide general orientations for the BEREC Office’s activities and adopt, on an annual basis, the BEREC Office’s single programming document by a majority of two thirds of its members, taking into account the opinion of the Commission and in accordance with Article 23; (b) to adopt, by a majority of two thirds of its members, the annual budget of the BEREC Office and exercise other functions in respect of the BEREC Office’s budget pursuant to Chapter VII; (c) to adopt, make public and proceed with an assessment of the consolidated annual activity report on the BEREC Office’s activities referred to in Article 27 and submit both the report and its assessment, by 1 July each year to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors; (d) to adopt the financial rules applicable to the BEREC Office in accordance with Article 29; (e) to adopt an anti-fraud strategy proportionate to fraud risks, taking into account the costs and benefits of the measures to be implemented; (f) to ensure adequate follow-up to findings and recommendations stemming from the internal or external audit reports and evaluations, as well as from investigations of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF); (g) to adopt rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interests as referred to in Article 42(3); (h) to adopt and regularly update the communication and dissemination plans referred to in Article 37(2), based on an analysis of needs; (i) to adopt its rules of procedure; (j) to adopt implementing rules for giving effect to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of the Council of 29 February 1968 laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities and instituting special measures temporarily applicable to officials of the Commission (OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1 ).(k) without prejudice to the decision referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, to exercise, with respect to the staff of the BEREC Office, the powers conferred by the Staff Regulations on the Appointing Authority and by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants on the Authority Empowered to Conclude a Contract of Employment (the "appointing authority powers"); (l) to appoint the Director and, where relevant, extend his or her term of office or remove him or her from office in accordance with Article 32; (m) to appoint an Accounting Officer, subject to the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, who shall be wholly independent in the performance of his or her duties; (n) to take all decisions on the establishment of the BEREC Office’s internal structures and, where necessary, their modification, taking into consideration the BEREC Office’s activity needs as well as having regard to sound budgetary management. With regard to point (m) of the first subparagraph, the BEREC Office may appoint the same Accounting Officer as another Union body or institution. In particular, the BEREC Office and the Commission may agree that the Commission’s accounting officer shall also act as Accounting Officer of the BEREC Office.
(a) the day-to-day administration of the BEREC Office; (b) implementing administrative decisions adopted by the Board of Regulators and the Management Board; (c) preparing, and submitting to the Management Board, the single programming document referred to in Article 23; (d) assisting the Board of Regulators in the preparation of BEREC’s annual activity report as referred to in Article 22; (e) assisting the Board of Regulators in the preparation of BEREC’s annual work programme as referred to in Article 21; (f) implementing the single programming document, and reporting to the Management Board on its implementation; (g) preparing the draft consolidated annual report on the BEREC Office’s activities as referred to in Article 27 and presenting it to the Management Board for assessment and adoption; (h) preparing an action plan following-up conclusions of internal or external audit reports and evaluations, as well as investigations by the OLAF and reporting on progress at least once a year to the Management Board; (i) protecting the financial interests of the Union by applying preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by carrying out effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by recovering amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by imposing effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative measures, including financial penalties; (j) preparing an anti-fraud strategy for the BEREC Office and presenting it to the Management Board for approval; (k) preparing draft financial rules applicable to the BEREC Office; (l) preparing the BEREC Office’s draft statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure and implementing its budget; (m) authorising, together with the Board of Regulators, the conclusion of working arrangements with competent Union bodies, offices, agencies and advisory groups and with competent authorities of third countries and with international organisations in accordance with Article 35.
(a) a contribution from the Union; (b) any voluntary financial contribution from the Member States or the NRAs; (c) charges for publications and any other service provided by the BEREC Office; (d) any contribution from third countries or the regulatory authorities competent in the field of electronic communications of third countries participating in the work of the BEREC Office, as provided for in Article 35.
(a) a common platform for the exchange of information, providing BEREC, the Commission and NRAs with the necessary information for the consistent implementation of the Union regulatory framework for electronic communications; (b) a dedicated interface for requests for information and notification of those requests as referred to in Article 40, for access by BEREC, the BEREC Office, the Commission and NRAs; (c) a platform for early identification of the need for coordination between NRAs.
(1) the title is replaced by the following: "Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 laying down measures concerning open internet access and retail charges for regulated intra-EU communications and amending Directive 2002/22/EC and Regulation (EU) No 531/2012";(2) in Article 1, the following paragraph is added: "3. This Regulation also lays down common rules to ensure that consumers are not charged excessive prices for making number-based interpersonal communications originating in the Member State of the consumer’s domestic provider and terminating at any fixed or mobile number in another Member State."; (3) in the second paragraph of Article 2, the following points are added: "(3) "regulated intra-EU communications" means any number-based interpersonal communications service originating in the Member State of the consumer’s domestic provider and terminating at any fixed or mobile number of the national numbering plan of another Member State, and which is charged wholly or partly based on actual consumption; (4) "number-based interpersonal communications service" means number-based interpersonal communications service as defined in point (6) of Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36 ).";----------------------Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36 ).";(4) the following Article is inserted: "Article 5a Retail charges for regulated intra-EU communications 1. From 15 May 2019 , any retail price (excluding VAT) charged to consumers for regulated intra-EU communications shall not exceed EUR0,19 per minute for calls and EUR0,06 per SMS message.2. Notwithstanding the obligations laid down in paragraph 1, providers of regulated intra-EU communications may additionally offer, and consumers may expressly choose, a tariff for international communications including regulated intra-EU communications different from that set in accordance with paragraph 1, by virtue of which consumers benefit from a different tariff for regulated intra-EU communications than they would have been accorded in the absence of such a choice. Before consumers choose such a different tariff, the provider of regulated intra-EU communications shall inform them of the nature of the advantages which would thereby be lost. 3. Where a tariff for regulated intra-EU communications as referred to in paragraph 2 exceeds the caps laid down in paragraph 1, consumers who have not confirmed or expressed, within a period of two months from 15 May 2019 , a choice for any tariff as referred to in paragraph 2, shall automatically be provided with the tariffs laid down in paragraph 1.4. Consumers may switch from or back to the tariffs laid down in paragraph 1 within one working day of receipt of the request by the provider, free of charge and providers shall ensure that such a switch does not entail conditions or restrictions with regard to elements of the subscriptions other than regulated intra-EU communications. 5. Where the maximum prices referred to in paragraph 1 are denominated in a currency other than the euro, the initial limits shall be determined in those currencies by applying the average of the reference exchange rates published on 15 January ,15 February and15 March 2019 by the European Central Bank in the Official Journal of the European Union. The limits in currencies other than the euro shall be revised annually from 2020. The annually revised limits in those currencies shall apply from 15 May using the average of the reference exchange rates published on 15 January, 15 February and 15 March of the same year.6. National regulatory authorities shall monitor the market and price developments for regulated intra-EU communications and shall report to the Commission. Where a provider of regulated intra-EU communications establishes that, due to specific and exceptional circumstances distinguishing it from most other Union providers, the application of the cap referred to in paragraph 1 would have significant impact on that provider’s capacity to sustain its existing prices for domestic communications, a national regulatory authority may, upon that provider’s request, grant a derogation from paragraph 1 only to the extent necessary and for a renewable period of one year. The assessment of the sustainability of the domestic charging model shall be based on relevant objective factors specific to the provider of regulated intra-EU communications, as well as the level of domestic prices and revenues. Where the applicant provider has discharged the applicable evidentiary burden, the national regulatory authority shall determine the maximum price level in excess of one or both of the caps set out in paragraph 1 which would be indispensable in order to ensure the sustainability of the provider’s domestic charging model. BEREC shall publish guidelines on the parameters to be taken into account by national regulatory authorities in their assessments."; (5) in Article 6, the following paragraph is added: "Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of Article 5a and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall notify the Commission of the rules and measures laid down to ensure the implementation of Article 5a by 15 May 2019 and shall notify the Commission without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.";(6) in Article 10, the following paragraph is added: "5. Article 5a shall expire on 14 May 2024 .".
| Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009 | This Regulation |
|---|---|
| Article 1(1) | Article 1 |
| Article 1(2) | Article 3(1) |
| Article 1(3) | Article 3(2) and (3) |
| Article 1(4) | Article 3(4) and points (a) and (b) of Article 4(1) |
| Article 2 | Article 4 |
| Article 3 | Article 4 |
| Article 4(1) | Article 6 |
| Article 4(2) | Article 7(1), (2) and (4), Article 8(1) and (2) |
| Article 4(3) | Article 11(4) and (5) and Article 36 |
| Article 4(4) | Article 10(1), (2) and (3) |
| Article 4(5) | Article 10(4) |
| Article 4(6) | Article 11 |
| Article 4(7) | Article 13 |
| Article 4(8) | Article 7(4) |
| Article 4(9) | Article 12(1) and (2) |
| Article 4(10) | Article 12(3) |
| Article 4(11) | Article 5 |
| Article 5 | Article 4 |
| Article 6(1) | Article 2(1) |
| Article 6(2) | Article 5 |
| Article 6(3) | Article 14(1) |
| Article 6(4) | Article 2(2) |
| Article 6(5) | Articles 20 and 31 |
| Article 7(1) | Article 15(1) |
| Article 7(2) | Article 32 |
| Article 7(3) | Article 20(6) |
| Article 7(4) | Point (k) of Article 16(1) |
| Article 7(5) | Article 13 |
| Article 8 | Article 32 |
| Article 9 | Article 20 |
| Article 10(1) | Articles 30 and 34 |
| Article 10(2) | Point (j) of Article 16(1) |
| Article 10(3) | Article 16(2) |
| Article 10(4) | Article 33 |
| Article 11 | Article 25 |
| Article 12 | Article 24 |
| Article 13 | Article 26 |
| Article 14 | — |
| Article 15 | Article 29 |
| Article 16 | Article 43 |
| Article 17 | Article 4(5) |
| Article 18 | Article 37 |
| Article 19 | Articles 39 and 40 |
| Article 20 | Article 38 |
| Article 21 | Article 42 |
| Article 22 | Article 36 |
| Article 23 | Article 34 |
| Article 24 | Article 44 |
| Article 25 | Article 48 |
| Article 26 | Article 52 |