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President of UKE (Poland) and Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies (Azerbaijan) officially elected for the posts of the EaPeReg Chairman and Vice-chairman for 2020

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27. November 2019

During the 14th plenary session of the Electronic Communications Regulators Network of the Eastern Partnership countries (EaPeReg) in Riga on 27th of November, 2019, the President of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) from Poland and the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies (MTCHT) of Azerbaijan were officially elected for the posts of Chairman and Vice- chairman of the network for 2020, respectively.

For the first time since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of EaPeReg in 2012, the presidency in this network will be conducted by the regulator from the country outside the direct EaPeReg members, i.e. the President of UKE.

Both administrations have been involved in the Network’s activity since 2010. Azerbaijan closely participates in the works of EaPeReg and signed the MoU in May 2019.

Therefore this election was met with a positive response from the regulators from the EaP countries. “I am glad that the President of UKE and the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan will take over the responsibility for EaPeReg next year. The experience of those authorities will help us to better achieve our goals.” – said representative of the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC).

“President of UKE has been supporting us substantively for years. Taking over the chairmanship in EaPeReg is another proof that the Polish regulator is actively operating on the international arena, supporting other Eastern-European regulators” – added representative of the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization of Ukraine (NCCIR).

In 2020, under the leadership of UKE and MTCHT, the EaPeReg will continue its activity within the commitment, stated in “Eastern Partnership – 20 Deliverables for 2020 – Focusing on key priorities and tangible results” of June 2017, in particular regarding “Harmonisation of Digital Markets” and EU4Digital Initiative launched in 2016. Priority actions for the EaPeReg will be in three main areas:

-          Conclusion of an agreement between EaP countries on harmonised roaming pricing and roaming tariffs and conducting the study of possibility of a common international roaming space and reduction of roaming tariffs between EaP countries and EU Member States;

-          Strengthening the independence of national telecom regulators in the EaP countries;

-          Alignment of priorities for spectrum coordination both between the EaP countries and EaP and EU countries, including for 694-790 MHz (`700 MHz band`) and 3.5 GHz, in order to free these bands for 5G deployment.

The mentioned activities, overall, have been realized by the relevant Expert Working Groups of EaPeReg with the EC’s financial support and close assistance of Ernst & Young and the World Bank.