The expert working group (EWG) focusing on the review of the regulatory framework met last 14 March in Brussels.
The participants included nearly 25 delegates representing national regulatory authorities (NRAs), among them ANACOM, from nearly 20 member states.
Bearing in mind that the European Parliament (EP) recently began discussions about the European Commission (EC) proposal to review the regulatory framework, given the orientations from the BEREC chair, the group proceeded to prepare a summary document focusing only on the EC’s proposal to make it mandatory for spectrum usage rights to last a minimum of 25 years.
The document, however, will stress that it is not the only one, nor the question that BEREC deems the most relevant among those concerning spectrum management considered in the proposed EC Code.
As agreed upon and given the urgency of this initiative, after the meeting the group continued work on this document by written communication (two comment rounds in four working days). Once approved, it will be submitted for consideration by members of the EP.
The meeting also discussed ongoing work to prepare BEREC’s position on all questions concerning spectrum included in the proposed code, of which the question on peer review (article 35) stands out.
In addition to what had been determined in previous meetings/comment rounds, namely that the aim to enhance cooperation between member states regarding spectrum award processes that impact the internal market was agreed upon and that the disadvantages identified in the Commission’s proposal would have to be avoided, the following ideas emerged at this meeting:
- include consultation of the peers and the EC in the Code article that envisages public consultations (article 23), on the understanding that a public consultation may be a more appropriate mechanism than a peer review;
- plan for that contribution from the EC and/or peers to happen at an early time and not during the final phase of decision-making on the award process.
