Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC)

Established as part of the European Union’s 2009 telecommunications reform package, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) promotes the development and more efficient functioning of the EU internal market for electronic communications networks and services by ensuring the consistent application of the EU regulatory framework aimed at delivering even greater benefits to consumers and businesses.

BEREC also assists and advises the European Commission (EC) and national regulatory authorities (NRAs) in the effective implementation of the EU regulatory framework for electronic communications, particularly by providing advice to European institutions and complementing, at the European level, the regulatory tasks performed by NRAs at the national level.

NRAs and the EC take utmost account of any opinion, recommendation, guidelines, common position or best regulatory practices adopted by BEREC.

Following the relevant request, on 7 June 2022, the European Commission adopted a decision authorizing the NCEC to participate in BEREC (as a member without voting rights). On 9 June, the NCEC leadership took part (for the first time) in the 51st BEREC Plenary Meeting, where, in special session, presented the current state of the electronic communications sector and the damage caused to telecom infrastructure as a result of the actions of Russian troops in the territory of Ukraine. On 9 December of the same year (during the 53rd Plenary Meeting), Working agreements regarding the NCEC’s participation in the work of BEREC and the BEREC Office were signed, which was the final step in the procedure for the NCEC’s joining BEREC.

The NCEC actively participates in the work of BEREC with the aim of practical involvement in the processes of analyzing future EU policy and the consistent implementation of the EU regulatory framework for electronic communications in EU Member states, and subsequently in Ukraine, including timely familiarization with advanced practical experience on the relevant matters, as well as taking the NCEC’s experience within the framework of the above-mentioned process into account. Representation is ensured at all levels of interaction – in the Working Groups, including the Contact Network, as well as during plenary meetings – at the level of the Board of Regulators.

The NCEC’s participation in BEREC is a practical step for Ukraine on the path to the EU’s Digital Single Market and, consequently, on the path to Ukraine’s full EU membership, allowing for a more effective adoption of best practices and understanding trends in the development of European regulatory framework. In addition, BEREC is the EU platform where the NCEC can present its own experience and the specifics of regulating the electronic communications sector in Ukraine, as well as systematically draw attention and inform other BEREC participants about the challenges faced by the NCEC and the electronic communications sector and its existing needs in the context of the ongoing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In December 2024, the NCEC Commissioner Liliia Malon was elected to the 2025 BEREC Mini-Board. Participation in the Mini-Board provides an opportunity to more actively participate in developing BEREC’s position on the consistent application of EU policy in the field of electronic communications, new EC’s regulatory initiatives and allows for direct participation in decision-making. This is the first time for Ukraine, when a representative of a state body in the field of electronic communications has been elected to the governing body of a European forum.