The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) – the new EU telecoms regulator – has met in Brussels for the first time today. It's formed from the telecoms regulators of the 27 EU countries and is designed to help strengthen the single telecoms market and provide consistent regulation across Europe.
BEREC is made up of the heads of the 27 national telecoms regulators and is assisted by an office that provides professional and administrative support. It replaces the 'European Regulators Group', a grouping of national regulators that wasn't integrated into the EU's regulatory process.
Viviane Reding, the EU Telecoms Commissioner who proposed the creation of the body in 2007, said "The establishment of the EU telecoms regulator is an important milestone for telecoms in Europe. The new body will help national telecoms regulators and the European Commission to provide consistent rules and competitive conditions across the EU. This will boost European telecoms services, which are evolving rapidly in areas like mobile internet and can become a major driver of economic recovery in Europe."