The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) met in Brussels for the first time while it awaits a decision on the location of a permanent home for the administrative team that will support it. The body itself is made up of the existing regulators of the 27 EU member countries.
The body was created by a package of telecoms reforms that were passed by the EU's governing bodies last year after a long period of conflict and negotiation on a number of issues, including that of the regulator.
BEREC is the result of a compromise and its powers fall far short of those originally proposed by the Commission, which had proposed the creation of a new telecoms regulator that would have operated within the Commission's structures. It would have been called the European Telecoms Market Authority (ETMA).
The European Parliament opposed the creation of a regulator whose authority would have exceeded that of existing national regulators when it came to cross-border issues. It pressed for the creation of a co-regulatory body comprising the 27 national regulators.
EU Commissioner for the Information Society criticised the Parliament's rejection of the Commission's plan. "Businesses and consumers in Europe are interested in results, not in lengthy procedures," said Reding in 2008. "I have doubts whether …[the co-regulator] will be able to deliver coherent regulatory responses to the regulatory obstacles still far too present in Europe's single telecoms market. Questions remain especially as regards the financing of the new body as well as its capability to arrive swiftly and efficiently at common positions."
Reding welcomed the creation of BEREC at its first meeting, though. “The establishment of the EU telecoms regulator is an important milestone for telecoms in Europe," she said. “The new body will help national telecoms regulators and the European Commission to provide consistent rules and competitive conditions across the EU. This will boost European telecoms services, which are evolving rapidly in areas like mobile internet and can become a major driver of economic recovery in Europe.”
According to a statement from the Commission BEREC will "give important expert opinions on the functioning of the telecoms market in the EU; [and] advise, support and complement the independent work of national telecoms regulators, especially when it comes to regulatory decisions with cross-border aspects".
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes will soon become the Commissioner for the Digital Agenda. She, too, welcomed the body's creation.
"I, like the European Parliament, think that a strong and independent BEREC is the best chance for this success. Not only for BEREC, but also in reinforcing the efforts of national regulators who might sometimes feel their independence is under pressure back home," she said.
Kroes seemed to back the approach to regulation chosen by the Parliament.
"The EU Legislator has established BEREC to ensure the 'consistent application of the telecoms Regulatory framework. This is quite different from 'harmonisation'," she said. "In Europe's diverse telecom markets, I do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach will work. We are all aware that BEREC is not a European super-regulator . However, as a body of experienced national regulators I think you are well placed to deliver this consistent application of the regulatory framework."
