REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission by Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Electronic Communications Code
Date: 2023-03-20
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Subjects: European Commission, Internet, delegated legislation, information technology, powers of the institutions (EU), provision of services, regulation of telecommunications, technological change, telephone charges, transmission network

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 20.3.2023  COM(2023) 145 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission by Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Electronic Communications Code     
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION 

On  11  December  2018,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  adopted  Directive  (EU) 
2018/1972  establishing  the  European  Electronic  Communications  Code  (EECC).1  The 
Directive entered into force on 20 December 2018 and the Member States had to transpose it 
into their national legal system by 21 December 2020. 

The Directive empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts: 

a)  to  set  a  single  maximum  Union-wide  mobile  voice  termination  rate  and  a  single 
maximum Union-wide fixed voice termination rate (the Union-wide voice termination 
rates), which are imposed on any provider of mobile voice termination or fixed voice 
termination services, respectively, in any Member State – Article 75(1) of the EECC; 

b)  to  supplement  paragraphs  2,  5  and  6  of  Article  109  on  the  measures  necessary  to 
ensure  the  compatibility,  interoperability,  quality,  reliability  and  continuity  of 
emergency  communications  in  the  Union  with  regard  to  caller  location  information 
solutions,  access  for  end-users  with  disabilities  and  routing  to  the  most  appropriate  
public  service answering point (PSAP) – Article 109(8) of the EECC; 

c)  to amend Annexes V,2 VI,3 IX,4 X5 and XI6 to the Directive in order to take account of 
technological and social developments or changes in market demand – Article 116 of 
the EECC. 

2.  LEGAL BASIS 

This  report  is  required  under  Article  117(2)  of  the  EECC.  Pursuant  to  this  provision,  the 
power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  was  conferred  to  the  Commission  for  a  period  of  five  years 
beginning on 20 December 2018 (i.e. until 20 December 2023).  

The  delegation  of  power  is  tacitly  extended  for  periods  of  an  identical  duration  unless  the 
European  Parliament  or  the  Council  opposes  such  an  extension  no  later  than  three  months 
before the end of each period.  

The  Commission  must  draw  up  a  report  in  respect  of  the  delegation  of  power  no  later  than 
nine months before the end of the five-year period (i.e. until 20 March 2023).  

3.  EXERCISE OF THE DELEGATION IN THE CURRENT PERIOD 

1 Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing 
the European Electronic Communications Code, OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36–214. 
2 Minimum set of services which the adequate broadband internet access service in accordance with article 84 (3) 
shall be capable of providing 
3 Description of facilities and services referred to in Article 88 (control of expenditure), Article 115 (additional 
facilities) and Article 106 (provider switching and number portability) 
4 information to be published in accordance with Article 103 (transparency and publication of information) 
5 Quality of service parameters 
6 Interoperability of car radio receivers and consumer digital television equipment referred to in Article 113 

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In the reporting period (20 December 2018 – 20 March 2023), the Commission exercised its 
power to adopt delegated acts with respect to the following provisions of the Directive: 

  Article  75(1)  –  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2021/654  of  18  December 
2020 supplementing Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council by setting a single maximum Union-wide mobile voice termination rate and a 
single maximum Union-wide fixed voice termination rate. 

Article 75(1) of the EECC requires the Commission to adopt a delegated act setting  a single 
maximum Union-wide mobile voice termination rate and a single maximum Union-wide fixed 
voice termination rate by 31 December 2020. In doing so, the Commission must comply with 
the principles, criteria and parameters provided in Annex III of the EECC. The Commission 
Delegated Regulation was adopted following the requirements and within the deadline set by 
the EECC. 

The delegated regulation sets the maximum termination rates that providers of mobile voice 
termination  or  fixed  voice  termination  services  are  allowed  to  charge  each  other  for  mobile 
and  fixed  termination  services  respectively  in  the  EU.  A  single  maximum  Union-wide  rate 
reduces  fragmentation  and  ensure  a  more  competitive,  cross-border  environment,  which 
ultimately benefits European consumers through lower prices and more varied offers for fixed 
and  mobile  calls.  Moreover,  given  that  the  national  regulatory  authorities  (NRAs)  are  not 
required  anymore to  build cost  models to  calculate efficient  rates this Delegated Regulation 
has significantly reduced the administrative burden for national regulators across the EU. 

From  26  July  to  8  November  2019,  stakeholders  were  invited  to  participate  in  the  public 
consultation  on  the  implementation  aspects  of  the  single  maximum  Union-wide  voice 
termination rates on the Have your say portal.7 The draft delegated regulation was discussed 
with  the  Member  States  in  the  Expert  Group  on  Voice  Call  Termination  Rates  in  the  EU 
between  10  February  2020  and  17  February  2021.  In  accordance  with  Article  75(1)  the 
opinion  of  the  Body  of  European  Regulators  for  Electronic  Communications  (BEREC)  was 
delivered on 10 October 2020.8 Neither the Council nor the European Parliament objected to 
the draft delegated regulation during the scrutiny period that expired on 2 April 2021. 

  Article 109(8) – Commission Delegated Regulation (EU)  2023/444 of 16 December 
2022 supplementing Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  with  measures  to  ensure  effective  access  to  emergency  services  through 
emergency communications to the single European emergency number '112' 

Article  109(8)  of  the  EECC  requires  the  Commission  to  adopt  the  first  delegated  act 
supplementing paragraphs 2, 5 and 6 of that Article by 21 December 2022. 

7  https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/1958-Voice-call-termination-rates-in-
the-EU-Eurorates-_en 
8  https://www.berec.europa.eu/en/document-categories/berec/opinions/berec-opinion-on-the-draft-delegated-act-
setting-single-maximum-union-wide-voice-fixed-and-mobile-termination-rates 

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The objective of this delegated regulation is to ensure effective access to emergency services 
through  emergency communications to  the single European emergency number ‘112’ in  the 
Member States. The delegated regulation is supplementing the provisions of the EECC to the 
extent necessary to meet this objective. The delegated regulation is providig for caller location 
criteria parameters, functional equivalence requirements for access to emergency services for 
end-users with disabilities and obligations with regard the effectiveness of the routing to the 
most  appropriate  public  safety  anwering  point  (PSAP).  Member  States  are  to  report  on  the 
implementation of these requirements as well as on the upgrade of the national PSAP system 
in order to be able to receive, answer and process emergency communications through packet-
switched technology. 

From 8 August until 12 September 2022, stakeholders were invited to provide feedback on the 
draft  delegated  regulation  published  on  the  Have  your  say  portal.9  The  draft  delegated 
regulation  was  discussed  with  the  Member  States  in  the  Expert  Group  on  Emergency 
Communications  between  6  May  and  8  September  2022.  In  accordance  with  Article  109(8) 
the  opinion  of  BEREC  was  delivered  on  14  October  2022.10  Neither  the  Council  nor  the 
European Parliament objected to the draft delegated regulation during the scrutiny period that 
expired on 17 February 2023. 

  Article  116  –  The  Commission  has  not  yet  exercised  the  power  to  adopt  delegated 
acts  conferred  by  this  Article.  To  date,  technological  and  social  developments  or 
changes in market demand have not yet given rise to the need for any amendments to 
Annexes V, VI, IX and XI of the EECC. 

4.  CONCLUSIONS 

The  Commission  has  exercised  its  delegated  powers  correctly  and  invites  the  European 
Parliament and the Council to take note of this report.  

The Commission considers that it should continue to have the delegated powers pursuant to 
Directive  (EU)  2018/1972,  as  it  is  obliged  to  review  every  five  years  the  delegated  act 
pursuant  to  Article  75(2)  of  the  EECC.  The  deadline  for  the  review  of  the  Commission 
Delegated Regulation 2021/654 is 18 December 2025.  

Likewise,  the  Commission  considers  that  it  should  continue  to  have  the  delegated  powers 
pursuant  Article  109(8)  to  be  able  to  adopt  measures  that  contribute  to  the  effectiveness  of 
emergency communications pursuant to the technological development in this field.  

Moreover,  the  Commission  may  need  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  the  future  to  amend  the 
annexes to the Directive to take account of technological and social developments or changes 
in market demand. 

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13183-Emergency-communications-

9 
improving-access-through-the-single-European-emergency-number-112_en 
10  https://www.berec.europa.eu/en/document-categories/berec/opinions/berec-opinion-on-the-draft-commission-
delegated-regulation-supplementing-directive-eu-20181972-of-the-european-parliament-and-of-the-council-
with-measures-to-ensure-effective-access-to-emergency-services-through 

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