REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Evaluation of BEREC and the BEREC Office
Date: 2026-01-21
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Subjects: Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, Internet, artificial intelligence, digital single market, information security, information technology, operation of the Institutions, regulation of telecommunications, trans-European network, transmission network

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 21.1.2026  COM(2026) 34 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Evaluation of BEREC and the BEREC Office {SWD(2026) 17 final}  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Evaluation of BEREC and the BEREC Office 

1. INTRODUCTION 

This report to the European Parliament, the Council and the Management Board outlines the 
Commission’s main findings of the evaluation of the performance of BEREC and the BEREC 
Office,  in  accordance  with  Article  48  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1971  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  December  2018  establishing  the  Body  of  European 
Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Agency for Support for BEREC 
(BEREC  Office)1,  hereinafter  the  ‘BEREC  Regulation’.  The  accompanying  staff  working 
document contains more detailed evidence and analysis supporting these findings. 

2. METHOD 

The  evaluation  was  carried  out  in  compliance  with  the  Commission  Better  Regulation 
Guidelines2  and  builds  on  the  study  supporting  the  evaluation  of  BEREC  and  the  BEREC 
Office prepared for the Commission3. While in principle it encompassed the period from 2019 
to  2023,  most  relevant  developments  up  to  December  2025  are  also  covered.  This  report 
assessed the performance of BEREC and the BEREC Office across the following evaluation 
criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence, and EU value added.  

The evaluation support study used several methods of data collection and analysis, including 
inter  alia:  desk  research,  document  analysis,  surveys  for  national  regulatory  authorities 
(NRAs) and for external stakeholders, as well as an interview programme with representatives 
from stakeholders categories.  

In  its  evaluation,  the  Commission  has  also  taken  into  consideration  BEREC  own  initiative 
input to the Commission on the functioning of BEREC and the BEREC Office in view of the 
evaluation under Article 48 of the BEREC Regulation4. 

3. BEREC AND THE BEREC OFFICE UNDER REGULATION (EU) 2018/1971 

The  Body  of  European  Regulators  for  Electronic  Communications  as  it  exists  today  was 
established by the BEREC Regulation, together with the Agency for the Support for BEREC. 

1   Regulation  (EU)  2018/1971  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  December  2018 
establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Agency for 
Support for BEREC (BEREC Office), amending Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 and repealing Regulation (EC) 
No 1211/2009, OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 1–35. 

2   Commission Staff Working Document: Better Regulation Guidelines, 03.11.2021, SWD(2021) 305 final. 
3   Study supporting the Evaluation of BEREC and the BEREC Office, December 2023 by PPMI and PwC, not 

yet published.  

4       BEREC input to the European Commission on the functioning of BEREC and the BEREC Office, BoR (23) 
114  

1 

 
 
 
 
They succeeded the original BEREC and its office, set up by Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009, 
as  part  of  the  2009  telecoms  reforms  package,  in  order  to  ensure  greater  harmonisation  of 
practices  among  the  national  regulatory  authorities  (NRAs),  promote  an  effective  internal 
market  in  this  sector,  and  act  as  an  exclusive  forum  for  cooperation  among  NRAs,  and 
between  the  Commission  and  NRAs.  In  2018,  following  the  evaluation  undertaken  under 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1211/20095,  BEREC’s  role  was  further  strengthened  by  the  BEREC 
Regulation  and  by  Directive  (EU)  2018/1972  establishing  the  European  Electronic 
Communications Code6 (EECC).  

BEREC’s  mandate  was  notably  expanded  to  issue  several  guidelines  to  facilitate  the 
harmonised  implementation  of  the  EECC,  as  well  as  to  establish  and  maintain  specific 
databases, for instance on numbering and general authorisations.   

The two-tier structure of BEREC and the BEREC Office was maintained in 2018 by the co-
legislators,  while  the  Commission  had  initially  proposed  in  2016  to  expand  BEREC  on  the 
model of a decentralised agency. As a result, only  the BEREC Office, which succeeded the 
Office, is a decentralised EU Agency dedicated to delivering professional and administrative 
support  to  BEREC,  the  body  gathering  NRAs.  The  BEREC  Office  possesses  a  legal 
personality and maintains legal, administrative, and financial autonomy. 

Like  Member  States,  including  NRAs,  as  well  as  the  Commission  and  the  Radio  Spectrum 
Policy Group (RSPG), BEREC is pursuing the general objectives set out in Article 3 of the 
EECC,  that  is:  promoting  connectivity  and  access  to  very  high  capacity  networks  (VHCN); 
promoting  competition  and  efficient  investment;  contributing  to  the  development  of  the 
internal  market;  promoting  the  interests  of  the  citizens  of  the  Union.  The  objective  of 
promoting connectivity was added in the EECC as electronic communications were becoming 
essential for the economy and the society overall. 

Additionally,  BEREC  must,  according  to  Article  3  of  the  BEREC  Regulation,  ensure  -  in 
particular  -  a  consistent  implementation  of  the  regulatory  framework  for  electronic 
communications (EECC, Roaming Regulation7 and Open Internet Regulation8). 

4. MAIN FINDINGS 

4.1. Effectiveness 

In  general,  over  the  period  assessed,  BEREC  has  been  effective  in  delivering  on  its  main 
objectives,  i.e.  promoting  connectivity  and  access  to  VHCN;  promoting  competition  and 

5   SWD(2013)  152  final  Commission  Staff  Working  Document  on  the  Evaluation  Report  of  the  Body  of 

European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and its office. Brussels, 23.4.2013. 

6   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. 

7     Regulation (EU) 2022/612 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 April 2022 on roaming on 
public  mobile  communications  networks  within  the  Union,  OJ  L 115,  13.4.2022, p. 1–37,  which  repealed 
Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 referred to in the BEREC Regulation. 

8   Regulation  (EU)  2015/2120  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  25  November  2015  laying 
down measures concerning open internet access and amending Directive  2002/22/EC on universal service 
and  users’  rights  relating  to  electronic  communications  networks  and  services  and  Regulation  (EU)  No 
531/2012 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union, OJ L 310, 26.11.2015, 
p. 1–18. 

2 

 
 
 
efficient  investment;  contributing  to  the  development  of  the  internal  market;  promoting  the 
interests of the citizens of the Union (Article 3 EECC).  

Under  the  EECC,  BEREC  has  been  tasked  with  elaboration  of  11  set  of  guidelines9,  on 
complex  technical,  economic  and  legal  aspects,  aiming  to  provide  guidance  to  NRAs  for 
harmonised implementation of the EECC. BEREC devoted significant resources and expertise 
in  elaboration  of  the  guidelines,  which  in  general  are  perceived  as  important  advice 
supporting  NRAs’  common  approaches.  Yet,  those  guidelines  alone  were  not  sufficient  to 
create a European Single Market in the electronic communications sector, as, by their nature, 
they are not legally binding and they always adhere to the principle of NRA flexibility. In this 
context,  safeguarding  BEREC  and  NRAs’  independence  from  political  influences  and  from 
other  stakeholders,  has  been  and  remains  an  important  determinant  of  their  effectiveness  in 
implementing the regulatory framework.  

During  the  period  analysed,  more  complex  and  interrelated  digital  markets  have  led  to  the 
enactment of new rules in the digital ecosystem in recent years, e.g. the Digital Services Act10, 
the Digital  Markets  Act11, the Data Act12 and Data  Governance Act13 and the AI  Act14. This 
resulted  in  new  responsibilities  assigned  to  national  competent  authorities  in  these  digital 
markets. However, in these new fields as well as in cybersecurity or spectrum, the competent 
authorities  designated  by  Member  States  are  not  necessarily  NRAs  and  these  new  areas  are 
often not reflected in BEREC’s mandate. Moreover, since these new responsibilities are not 
necessarily granted nationally to NRAs, BEREC cannot always rely on the experience of all 
of its members when implementing (new) tasks entrusted to it or, acting on its own initiative 
in  cases  where  the  new  tasks  were  not  entrusted  to  BEREC  and  its  members,  through 
providing  advice  or  input  on  these  new  aspects.15  Therefore,  better  cooperation  with 
competent authorities other than the NRAs in the field of electronic communications, as well 
as  upskilling  of  the  NRAs,  are  becoming  even  more  important  as  digital  regulation  is 
extending beyond the traditional telecommunications sector.  

9   https://www.berec.europa.eu/en/tasks/european-electronic-communications-

code?language_content_entity=en 

10   Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single 
Market  For  Digital  Services  and  amending  Directive  2000/31/EC  (Digital  Services  Act),  OJ  L  277, 
27.10.2022, p. 1–102. 

11   Regulation  (EU)  2022/1925  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14  September  2022  on 
contestable  and  fair  markets  in  the  digital  sector  and  amending  Directives  (EU)  2019/1937  and  (EU) 
2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act), OJ L 265, 12.10.2022, p. 1–66. 

12   Regulation  (EU)  2023/2854  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  December  2023  on 
harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and Directive 
(EU) 2020/1828 (Data Act), OJ L, 2023/2854, 22.12.2023. 

13   Regulation (EU) 2022/868 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on European data 
governance and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 (Data Governance Act), OJ L 152, 3.6.2022, p. 1–44. 
14   Regulation  (EU)  2024/1689  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  June 2024  laying down 

harmonised rules on artificial intelligence, OJ L, 2024/1689.  

15   E.g. BEREC participates in the High-Level Group established under Article 40 of the DMA, alongside other 
bodies  such  as  European  Competition  Network,  Consumer  Protection  Cooperation  Network,  EDPS  and 
EDPB. High Level Group provides advice and expertise to the Commission to ensure that DMA and other 
sectoral  regulations  applicable  to  gatekeepers  are  implemented  in  a  coherent  way.  Similarly,  certain 
provisions of the Data Act, namely those  related to cloud switching (articles 23 to 31, and articles 34-35) 
should  be  enforced  by  competent  authorities  with  experience  in  the  field  of  data  and  electronic 
communications  services;  it  is  to  be  expected  that  many  BEREC  members  may  be  assigned  with  such 
competences.    

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Moreover, as also recognised by BEREC16 and as indicated in the Commission’s White Paper 
‘How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?’, a virtualisation and softwarisation of 
electronic communications networks is ongoing, as well as a shifting of network functions to 
the cloud or the edge17. The convergence of electronic communications networks and services 
and cloud  infrastructures does not  only  concern the infrastructure layer, but  also  the service 
operations. Furthermore, in the last years AI-based applications have profoundly changed the 
way of life and affected all economic sectors. It is important for BEREC to be able to respond 
to the convergence of the traditional telecoms market and the wider digital ecosystem to fulfil 
its role, including the increasingly supranational scope of connectivity markets. Moreover, the 
European dimension of the sector is further developing, and with it, the scope and objectives 
of  the  regulatory  framework,  including  the  regulatory  issues  such  as  authorisation,  ensuring 
the better functioning of a broader connectivity ecosystem and - very importantly - resilience 
and sustainability. A more EU-focused governance setup should also be considered.  

When it comes to the BEREC Office, generally speaking, it has been successfully providing 
support  to  BEREC,  even  during  periods  of  increased  workload  or  when  having  to  adapt  to 
significant global events, such as the Russia war of aggression on Ukraine. Nevertheless, the 
Commission shares the view of many NRAs that the BEREC Office should not only provide 
administrative support but also additional professional support and, in particular, play a more 
central  role  in  data  collection  and  analysis.  This  could  be  an  important  development  in  the 
BEREC Office’s role, as demand for data analytics, and better understanding of technological 
trends  and  their  determinants  are  essential  for  BEREC  to  fulfil  its  role,  now  and  in  the 
foreseeable  future.  Strengthening  the  BEREC  Office  so  that  it  can  support  BEREC  also  on 
substance will allow BEREC deliverables to take an EU perspective more into account and to 
better align with EU-level policies.  

4.2. Efficiency 

BEREC  is  generally  considered  by  the  stakeholders  as  an  organisation  with  a  clear  and 
straightforward setup,  governance and procedures, yet  relatively flexible.18 Nevertheless,  the 
frequent  reliance  on  the  bigger  NRAs  for  leading  BEREC  working  groups,  the  mentioned 
asymmetry  in  the  NRAs’  competences  or  their  related  limited  knowledge  in  specific  areas 
might challenge the representativeness of specific BEREC outputs. While the current mandate 
of  the  BEREC  Office  might  not  provide  much  margin  of  manoeuvre,  requesting  more 
content-related support from the BEREC Office could improve the situation. 

Moreover, the number of BEREC Working Groups and the delineation of their tasks should 
be assessed to  ensure that developments in the sector are addressed while avoiding possible 
overlaps or inconsistencies. Finally, as also raised by NRAs/BEREC, better coordination and 

16   BEREC  submission 

the  White  Paper,  p.  8 
07/BoR%20%2824%29%20100_1_%20BEREC%20Input_White%20Paper_final.pdf).  

(https://www.berec.europa.eu/system/files/2024-

to 

17   That is, the ability to process and transport large amounts of data across the entire global Internet has led to 
the remote storage and processing of data in the cloud, between the cloud and the end-user through Content 
Delivery Networks (CDNs), and close to the end-user (edge computing). Cf. White Paper, p. 5. 

18   Study supporting the Evaluation of BEREC and the BEREC Office, December 2023 by PPMI and PwC, not 

yet published; section 5.1.4.  

4 

 
 
 
planning with the EU institutions could enable more effective task delivery regarding ad hoc 
work requested from BEREC. 

Being  among  the  smallest  EU  agencies,  the  BEREC  Office  strives  to  provide  support  to 
BEREC as efficiently as possible within its budgetary constraints. The BEREC Office – and 
this  finding  also  applies  to  its  Management  Board  –  is,  however,  regularly  exceeds  the 
maximum FTEs as approved by the budgetary authority. At the same time, there is currently a 
relatively  high  rate  of  staff  turnover  at  the  BEREC  Office,  mostly  visible  for  external  staff 
dealing with administrative tasks. This turnover leads to continuity issues, including retaining 
knowledge.  

The BEREC Office should address these issues in order to be more efficient. This could be 
done  through  reorganisation  of  functions  inside  the  Agency,  as  well  as  closer  collaboration 
with Commission services or other decentralised agencies. As a matter of fact, providing more 
content-related  support,  e.g.  on  data  analysis  and  report  drafting,  could  make  the  overall 
balance  between  operational  and  administrative  support  tasks  more  appropriate.  This  could 
make  the  BEREC  Office  a  more  attractive  employer.  Furthermore,  the  BEREC  Office’s  IT 
tools could be further improved to make them more straightforward to use, and secure in view 
of persistent cybersecurity threats (both to the BEREC Office itself, in view of its location, as 
well  as  a  compromise  vector  towards  EU  telecoms  operators).  In  any  event,  it  will  be 
important  that  the  BEREC  Management  Board  addresses  human  and  financial  resources 
issues in accordance with the overall framework for European agencies and uses the resources 
efficiently. 

4.3. Coherence 

More  coordination  and  exchange  of  information  at  EU  and/or  national  level,  between  the 
NRAs  and  other  competent  authorities,  or  the  direct  involvement  of  other  competent 
authorities  in  BEREC’s  work  for  which  NRAs  are  not  all  in  charge  at  the  national  level, 
would  also  foster  the  coherence  of  certain  BEREC  outputs.  In  the  Commission’s  view, 
BEREC should in any event adapt its outputs and expertise to relevant emerging topics such 
as  AI,  cybersecurity,  and  other  digital  matters,  and  very  importantly  sustainability  and 
resilience of networks, which are addressed in different EU policies and legal instruments.  

Specific reference should also be made to spectrum matters in this context. While a significant 
number of BEREC members are responsible for spectrum matters at national level, and both 
BEREC and the BEREC Office are addressing authorisation issues in a number of ways, they 
are involved in spectrum matters only in limited instances so far, such as via participation in 
RSPG  peer  reviews.  Recent  developments  in  the  area  of  satellite-based  applications 
particularly calls for strengthened involvement of BEREC and the BEREC Office in the field 
of  spectrum  and  much  closer  collaboration  with  RSPG,  in  view  of  the  inherently  pan-
European nature of satellite-based services.  

4.4. EU added value 

By  bringing  together  expertise  from  27  NRAs,  BEREC  plays  a  pivotal  role  in  the 
implementation of the electronic communications' regulatory framework, in particular for the 
NRAs  and  the  EU  institutions.  The  governance  set  up  of  BEREC  and  BEREC  office,  is 
unique and different from usual model of EU decentralised Agencies used in other regulated 
sectors (eg. energy, banking, medicine, aviation safety). This set up implements a deliberate 

5 

 
 
separation of regulatory functions from administrative support, in view of the need to ensure 
the independence of NRAs, also at the EU level. Unlike other Agencies (eg. ACER, EASA, 
EMA)  BEREC  does  not  have  a  legal  personality,  nor  it  can  adopt  binding  regulatory 
decisions, but its main role is to be an high-level expert body, providing guidelines, common 
positions, issuing  opinions and elaborating soft-law instruments  to  harmonise the regulatory 
approaches  of  its  members.  Despite  some  limitations  (complex  structure,  lack  of  direct 
regulatory powers vested in an EU body), the current structure worked well in contributing to 
the overall convergence of regulatory approaches within the EU. 

BEREC’s  contribution  to  fostering  regulatory  consistency,  hence  the  internal  market  for 
electronic  communications  and  end-users,  should  be  further  encouraged.  In  particular, 
BEREC  could  play  a  more  active  role  in  promoting  a  harmonised  approach  to  the 
implementation of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications in line 
with  Article  3  of  the  BEREC  Regulation,  notably  through  its  guidelines.  During  the 
evaluation  period,  BEREC  guidelines  were  instrumental  in  supporting  the  harmonisation  of 
NRAs’ approaches but were not sufficient, among also many other factors not directly related 
to  BEREC,  to  ultimately  lead  to  the  creation  of  European  Single  Market  for  electronic 
communications.  Nevertheless,  while  BEREC  can  adopt  its  opinions  by  simple  majority,  in 
practice  it  strives  to  achieve  consensus/unanimity  and  common  ground  among  all  involved 
NRAs. In practice, this significantly limits BEREC ability to act with focus on pan-European 
interests,  as  opposed  to  national  views  sometimes  more  conservative  and  ‘naturally’  more 
focused on local specificities.   

BEREC’s opinions generally provide valuable inputs to the NRAs and the EU policy process. 
However, those issued on its own initiative and/or during inter-institutional negotiations could 
be better coordinated with the Commission and co-legislators to ensure their usefulness in the 
policymaking process. This would plead for finding the appropriate ways and timing for the 
Commission or other institutions to collect BEREC’s views, and to clarify BEREC’s current 
mandate to provide input in relation to the preparation of legislative proposals in the field of 
electronic communications. 

Moreover, BEREC’s expertise needs to be sustained, deepened and broadened, in view of the 
rapidly  evolving  electronic  communications  and  digital  markets,  and  this,  despite  any 
diverging powers of its members at national level. In that regard, in its response19 to the Call 
for Evidence BEREC states that it is keen to assume new institutional responsibilities in view 
of further strengthening the Single Market dimension and broader digital policy perspective, 
while such expansion can also work well within its current two-tier structure. Further, BEREC 
stresses  the  need  to  clearly  delineate  the  areas  of  responsibilities  and  accountability  among 
various  institutional  actors,  and  acknowledges  the  growing  need  for  structured  cooperation 
with  other  EU-level  bodies  overseeing  interrelated  areas  of  digital  policy,  such  as  data 
governance, digital services, cybersecurity, and AI.  

Finally,  the  increasing  number  of  participants  from  third  country  NRAs,  while  helping  to 
promote the EU electronic communications markets and exchange of views and learning from 
each  other,  implies  reflecting  on  the  respective  role,  capacities  to  make  decisions  and 
organisation of BEREC work. 

19  https://www.berec.europa.eu/en/all-documents/berec/opinions/berec-input-to-the-european-commissions-call-

for-evidence-on-the-digital-networks-act 

6 

 
 
 
4.5. Relevance 

Asymmetries  in  NRAs’  competences  in  Member  States  may  influence  the  relevance  of 
BEREC’s  work  for  certain  NRAs.  This  is  prompting  the  question  how  BEREC  could  best 
‘contribute  to  the  regulatory  environment  fit  for  the  digital  age  in  the  run-up  to  2030’,  as 
BEREC puts it in its own input to the evaluation.   

Also in the field of electronic communications, the tasks that were entrusted to BEREC and 
the BEREC Office had been limited as the current governance structure have been conceived 
for  markets  which  are  national  in  scope,  with  not  so  many  aspects  related  to  harmonisation 
and the Single Market dimension and with significant focus on ex ante regulation as the main 
tool in the regulatory toolbox. This is changing, since the European dimension of the sector 
has been developing in some areas, while competitive conditions have evolved.  

Recent  technological  changes  create  various  opportunities  and  challenges  for  the  sector,  as 
indicated  in  the  Commission  White  Paper  on  digital  infrastructure  needs,  and  in  recent 
feedback  in  the  Call  for  evidence  accompanying  the  legislative  process  for  the  Digital 
Networks  Act.  The  recently  adopted  BEREC  Strategy  2026-30  recognises  the  profound 
changes  of  the  digital  technologies  and  the  intertwined/reciprocal  nature  of  electronic 
communications and digital technologies (AI, data processing, virtualisation, cloud and edge 
computing).20  In  order  to  ensure  its  relevance  in  the  coming  years  BEREC  identifies  key 
priorities, which besides its current focus (connectivity, competition, end user interests), also 
put emphasis on environmental sustainability, cybersecurity and resilience.  

The current setup of BEREC and tasks entrusted to it might not be sufficient and appropriate 
to cope with this evolution. Furthermore, the regulatory toolbox might need to be modernised 
to  address  the  market  and  technological  changes,  with  possible  broader  use  of  harmonised 
tools (for example access product) and its most rarely (if ever) used tools, such as resolution 
of cross-border aspects,  may gain  prominence. In this respect,  the question arises as  to  how 
the  role  and  mandate  of  BEREC  and  the  BEREC  Office  should  evolve  and  possibly  be 
strengthened to adapt to new responsibilities and tasks.  

The  current  setup  also  challenges  the  relevance  of  BEREC’s  work  on  digital  markets  for 
certain  industry  and  consumer  representatives.  External  stakeholders  want  to  engage  more 
with BEREC in virtual events or public consultations, often ask for more time to respond to 
consultations, and for more transparency on upcoming initiatives. In that regard, during 2024 
and  2025  BEREC  has  put  significant  emphasis  on  improving  its  effective  communication 
with stakeholders, to ensure transparency, build trust and engage with stakeholders, ensuring 
that  all  its  outputs  remain  relevant.  This  has  been  underlined  as  one  of  the  aspects  of 
strengthening BEREC capabilities in its Strategy for years the 2026-2030, which aims to set 
BEREC priorities for the upcoming 5 years.  

5.  CONCLUSIONS 

This report, and its accompanying Staff Working Document, mainly look backwards, into the 
performance of BEREC and the BEREC Office over the period 2019-2023, while also taking 
into account main developments until December 2025. This report draws a number of lessons 

20  BEREC  Strategy  2026-30,  December  2025,  https://www.berec.europa.eu/en/all-documents/berec/berec-

strategies-and-work-programmes/berec-strategy-2026-2030.  

7 

 
 
 
from this analysis, including on the mandate and the organisation of BEREC and the BEREC 
Office.  

Overall,  BEREC  and  the  BEREC  Office  have  proven  to  be  quite  effective  in  delivering  on 
their  main  objectives.  The  contribution  of  independent  NRAs,  which  share  the  same 
objectives, is essential in this respect.  

However, the situation has been developing over the reporting period and continues to evolve 
significantly. More complex and interrelated digital markets have led to the enactment of new 
rules and new tasks granted to many BEREC members in e.g. digital markets, cybersecurity, 
spectrum, data, AI,  which  are not  always reflected in  BEREC’s mandate. This  is  increasing 
the asymmetry between  NRAs’ responsibilities at  national  level,  as  well  as between NRAs’ 
responsibilities  and  BEREC’s  mandate.  Moreover,  recent  market  and  technological  changes 
are  creating  opportunities  and  challenges  for  the  sector,  as  indicated  in  the  Commission’s 
White Paper on digital infrastructure needs. 

These  developments  are  pleading  for  more  coordination  and  exchange  of  information  at 
national level or the direct involvement of other competent authorities in the work of BEREC, 
which  could  improve  its  effectiveness.  Moreover,  changes  occur  in  the  electronic 
communications  sector  itself,  with  evolving  competitive  conditions  and  blurring  delineation 
between  different  aspects  of  digital  networks  and  electronic  communications  and  digital 
services.  These  developments  are  calling  for  sustaining  and  broadening  BEREC’s  role  and 
expertise,  as  also  recognised  by  BEREC  itself,  while  underlining  the  need  for  a  clear 
delineation  of  new  responsibilities  and  accountability  of  various  institutional  actors,  and 
preserving BEREC’s and NRAs’ independence.   

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