In conversation with Dr Aude Schoentgen, Director, Head of Office, Plum Consulting, BEREC Chair Robert Mourik opened the IIC’s Annual Europe Digital Communications and Media Forum today in Brussels. The event brought together industry operators, regulators, legislators and experts to discuss topics such as the potential implementation of the Draghi and Letta reports’ recommendations, technological sovereignty and security, universal service obligation (USO), and the upcoming review of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC).

While giving an overview of the BEREC Work Programme for 2025, the BEREC Chair noted that technological, economic, and geopolitical developments are changing the way we think of networks and network resiliency. He also outlined the importance of balancing competing regulatory objectives when it comes to securing more industry innovation and investment in Europe where end-users already benefit from lower prices as compared to other regions.

The BEREC Chair also outlined how BEREC’s work over the past 15 years supports harmonisation in telecoms. Continuing BEREC’s strong history of collegiality and collaboration is a key priority for the network that considers telecoms to be inherently local and context specific; what will work in one Member State may still provide learnings for another which may be experiencing a different context.