Dublin hosted last 9 May a meeting of the RSPG working group (WG) on the European Electronic Communications Code (RSPG EECC), which has been tasked with adjusting the RSPG to meet new challenges and responsibilities stemming from the EECC. The WG is co-chaired by France (Agence Nationale des Fréquences – ANFR), Hungary (National Media and Infocommunications Authority - NMHH) and Germany (Ministry of Transportation and Digital Infrastructure); it was established in early 2019 to identify new tasks the RSPG should carry out and propose the actions needed to achieve them (e.g. changes to the rules of procedure (RoPs) and to the decision establishing the RSPG, identification of new items to include in the group’s working programme and adjustment of the peer review (PR) to the rules envisaged in the code).
The meeting’s participants included representatives of the European Commission and delegates from ten member-states1. Portugal was represented by ANACOM.
The meeting continued the work of preparing the RSPG report on operationalisation of the PR procedure (inter-peer analysis, a task the new European regulatory framework assigned to the RSPG). A level of consensus was reached regarding the preferred option for operationalisation of the exceptional PR (implementation of article 32(2) of the Code), i.e. the PR done by initiative of the RSPG in a situation where the member-state concerned had not requested that the peers conduct a review.
The manner of implementing the exceptional PR will notably determine whether it is more or less easy to roll out the peer review process without the express consent of the member-state concerned.
The next meeting of RSPG EECC is scheduled for this 13 June in Brussels, after the RSPG plenary meeting. Until then, the group will continue working by correspondence to prepare the presentation to the RSPG plenary meeting on progress in preparations for the PR, namely the group’s preferred solution for the mechanism enabling the RSPG to start the exceptional PR, as envisaged in 35(2).
