EU member states are resisting proposals from the European Commission to expand the powers of Berec, the pan-European telecoms regulator. According to a brief from Dutch state secretary Mona Keijzer to parliament ahead of a meeting of EU telecom ministers on 04 December, a majority of the countries, including the Netherlands, are against the EC's plan to elevate Berec to the status of an EU agency. This would put Berec under much more direct control of the Commission. EU members are more in favour of making Berec's board independent.
The reform of Berec is part of the Digital Single Market package and overhaul of EU telecom regulation, first presented by the Commission in September 2016. The EU members aim to finalise their position on the legislation at the meeting in December, in order to reach agreement with the European Parliament on passing the regulation in the first half of 2018. The measures would apply immediately, without the need for member states to adapt national laws.
Berec is currently an assembly of national telecom regulators, which make up its management, along with a support office. The Commission has proposed strengthening the organisation by giving it the legal status of an EU agency. This would also come with new tasks and powers and changes to its internal rules. Berec is based in Riga with only a small staff; much of its work is supplied by the national regulators and external contractors.
The member states support the current cooperation among national regulators and don't want to see their power shift to the European Commission. They do support the idea of making the Berec management independent, but don't want the regulator's decisions to be legally binding, for fear of infringing on national rights.
ePrivacy still up for debate
The European Commission also will give an update at the meeting on progress with the reform of the ePrivacy directive. Under the Estonian presidency of the EU, the member states have been discussing the relationship with the General Data Protection Directive, which will take effect in May 2018. The debate is still wide open, also with the Parliament.
The EU states are also still working on their position over the proposed rules on data geolocation. The Netherlands supports the Commission's proposal to end any national data location requirements unrelated to law enforcement needs. The large number of data centres in the Netherlands is expected to profit from freeing up the market for data storage. However, most of the states have yet to take a clear position yet on the proposal.
