The 26th plenary meeting of the European Regulators Group (ERG) took place on 9 and 10 October in Dublin, Ireland. During the meeting the group welcomed the progress made in European legislative reform of electronic communications, while at the same time emphasising the importance of ensuring the independence of national regulatory authorities (NRA) in the operation and application of the new regulatory framework, particularly in respect of the application of appropriate remedies in their domestic markets.
At this meeting, the ERG adopted a number of documents on sector relevant issues, including:
- Common statement on Regulatory Principles of IP-IC/NGN Core (ERG (08) 26 finalhttp://berec.europa.eu/doc/publications/erg_08_26_final_ngn_ip_ic_cs_081016.pdf), in which it is noted that the ''Bill and Keep'' tariff scheme has promising properties for a future interconnection scheme that the group will continue to analyse;
- Response to the European Commission Recommendation on access to Next Generation Access Networks (ERG (08) 38rev2http://berec.europa.eu/doc/publications/erg_08_38rev2_final_i_erg_response_to_ec_draft_nga_rec_081016.pdf), in which the ERG considers that the Recommendation should focus on the harmonisation of the principles of regulation rather than be overly prescriptive on the application of remedies, emphasising the need to maintain the flexibility of the NRAs, failing which they might no longer be able to impose proportionate remedies that address the competition issues in their markets;
- Common position on the geographic aspects of market analysis (ERG (08) 20finalhttp://berec.europa.eu/doc/publications/erg_08_20_final_cp_geog_aspects_081016.pdf), in respect of which the group explored under which circumstances a geographically differentiated approach to market analysis might be used (definition and remedies);
- Periodic Snapshot of mobile termination rates (ERG (08) 41http://berec.europa.eu/doc/publications/erg_08_41_final_mtr_snapshot_081017.pdf);
- 2008 report on regulatory accounting (ERG (08) 47http://berec.europa.eu/doc/publications/erg_08_47_final_ra_in_practice_081016.pdf), in which the year's data confirms the results obtained in the reports of 2007, specifically an always more extensively use of LRIC / LRAIC with respect to cost-orientation of wholesale prices.
In addition to these documents, approval was also given to the work programme for public consultation, with a view to its final approval at the next plenary, which will be held in Budapest, Hungary, on 4 and 5 Dec 2008.
In parallel, the 3rd General Assembly of the Independent Regulators Group (IRG) was held, which saw the presentation of reports on the proposals of the new regulatory framework for electronic communications, on the results of the questionnaire on the possibility of considering the ''Bill and Keep'' scheme as a regulatory tool and the IRG website, developed by ANACOM, including a proposal for the editorial policy. The Assembly also addressed the issue of the future secretariat of the IRG, which takes office on 01 January 2009, and approved the 2009 budget.
The next General Assembly will take place in Budapest, Hungary, on 4 Dec.
National regulators welcome the progress of the European legislative framework for electronic communications and underline the need for further strengthening of the NRAs independencehttp://berec.europa.eu/doc/whatsnew/erg_08_53_%20press_release_dublin_plenary.pdf (ERG - press release)
Main outcomes of the 26th ERG Plenaryhttp://berec.europa.eu/doc/whatsnew/erg_26_plenary_debriefing_chairs_presentation.pdf (Presentation by Daniel Pataki, ERG Chair)
Further information:
Website European Regulators Group - ERGhttp://erg.ec.europa.eu/ (European Regulators Group - ERG)
Website Independent Regulators Group (IRG)https://www.irg.eu/
Related information on ANACOM's website:
International presence: EU - ERG - European Regulators Grouphttps://www.anacom.pt/template15.jsp?categoryId=166042
International presence: IRG - Independent Regulators Grouphttps://www.anacom.pt/template15.jsp?categoryId=66730
