The Official Journal (EUR-Lex)
- Competition
- Audiovisual and media
- Consumers
- Digital Single Market
- Enterprise
- Internal Market
- Research and innovation
Electronic Communications
The regulatory framework for telecommunications (electronic communications) was first adopted in 2002 and updated successively with the latest framework taking effect in 2020. An EU consultation mechanism ensures that the National Regulatory Authorities (“NRAs”) implement the framework in close cooperation with each other and with the Commission.
The ex ante regulatory framework focuses on, inter alia, identifying the most enduring competitive bottlenecks (typically in fixed infrastructure markets) and imposing remedies to tackle those persistent market failures. The goal is to ultimately guide those markets towards a system of ex post competition enforcement only. This complementary use of ex ante regulation and ex post competition law enforcement thus promotes sustainable infrastructure competition in high-speed broadband markets, incentivising investment and innovation to the benefit of EU citizens and businesses.
Established primarily by the European Electronic Communications Code (Directive (EU) 2018/1972), the ex-ante regulatory framework for electronic communications is embedded within a wider institutional framework in the form of the Commission’s European Gigabit Society initiatives. Related legislative instruments include:
- Guidelines on market analysis and the assessment of significant market power under the EU regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (2018/C 159/01) + Commission Staff Working Document
- Commission Recommendation (EU) 2020/2245 of 18 December 2020 on relevant product and service markets within the electronic communications sector susceptible to ex ante regulation
- Directive 2002/77/EC on competition in the markets for electronic communications networks and services
- Directive 2014/61/EU on measures to reduce the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks Text with EEA relevance
- Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Agency for Support for BEREC
- The Regulation laying down measures concerning open internet access (Regulation 2015/2120 – “The Net Neutrality Regulation”)
- Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (Direct access to consolidated version: html/pdf) and Regulation (EU) 2017/920 amending Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 as regards rules for wholesale roaming markets
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2286 laying down detailed rules on the application of fair use policy and on the methodology for assessing the sustainability of the abolition of retail roaming surcharges and on the application to be submitted by a roaming provider for the purposes of that assessment