Review article
BEREC: A Compromise Approach in the Regulation of the Electronic Communications Market of the European Union
Marko Turudić
; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Technological development leads to an unstoppable growth of infrastructure, but also adds to the economic importance of electronic communications. The European Union recognised this fact quite early and established a common electronic communications market. The functioning and regulation of this market are, naturally, far from perfect. The application of regulatory provisions concerning the electronic communications market is left in its entirety to national regulatory agencies, which has led to a number of problems. 27 national regulatory agencies have developed 27 different regulatory practices, bringing about additional fragmentation of a market which is of vast importance to the EU. There is a pressing need for the harmonisation of the practices of national regulatory agencies.
The idea of creating a European regulatory agency for electronic communications has been rejected on multiple occasions. It thus became necessary to devise a new, compromise approach to the problem, putting an emphasis on voluntary co-operation and exchange of opinions by national regulatory agencies.
The paper begins with a description of the circumstances which have created the need for strengthening the co-operation of the national regulatory agencies of the member states. Further, the founding, organisation and functioning of the ERG is presented, along with a critical look at the reasons for its substitution with BEREC. The second part of the paper deals with BEREC, its founding, organisation and work to date, as well as its essential distinctive features which distinguish it from the former ERG.
Keywords
European Union; electronic communications; administrative law; common market
Hrčak ID:
93207
URI
Publication date:
8.10.2012.
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