22nd Plenary Meeting of the Eastern Partnership Electronic Communications Regulators Network (EaPeReg) and 3-Lateral Workshop on “Strengthening Broadband Infrastructure and Services across the Europe Region and Beyond” between EaPeReg, EMERG and ITU was held in Tbilisi, Georgia on 29-30 November 2023 in hybrid format. 59 participants (30 onsite and 29 online), among them the representatives of DG CONNECT and DG NEAR, EU4Digital, ITU, BEREC and BEREC Office, EMERG and IIC participated in the Plenary and the Workshop. The Plenary meeting was hosted by the Georgian National Communications Commission (ComCom), EaPeReg Chair 2023. Cecoforma, in cooperation with ComCom organised the logistics. The event was sponsored by the European Commission – DG NEAR. The Meeting was moderated by Mzia Gogilashvili, representative of EaPeReg Chair 2023 and Tom Boyce, representative of EaPeReg Vice-Chair 2023.
Main objectives of the Plenary Meeting were to:
- Assess EaPeReg work accomplished in 2023.
- Discuss and confirm EaPeReg activities for 2024.
- Discuss the activities implemented under the EU4Digital project during 2023.
- Analyse the Expert Working Groups’ (EWGs) reports on the progress achieved during 2023 and review the main plans for 2024.
- Discuss further joint efforts with BEREC, EMERG, EC, ITU and IIC supporting deepening of cooperation with these bodies thus ensuring further development of EaPeReg in 2024.
- Elect EaPeReg Chair and Vice-Chair 2024.
- Discuss other operational activities related to the Network development.
After welcome speeches, the representative of the EU4Digital Facility for Telecom Rules presented a status snapshot of the work accomplished during 2023 and introduced the actions planned to be implemented during 2024 in close cooperation with the EaPeReg EWGs.
Chairs of the EaPeReg EWGs – Inga Popovici (Romania), Roman Kurdadze (Georgia) and Zaruhi Stepanyan (Armenia) – presented progress achieved by respective EWGs in 2023 and the main plans for 2024, namely:
The representative of EaPeReg Chair 2023 delivered a presentation on the activities of the EaPeReg leadership 2023. She outlined that to achieve the goals defined in the EaPeReg Work Plan 2023, as well as to support the development of the Network and to increase its visibility, the EaPeReg Chair 2023 participated in important international, regional, and bilateral events/meetings;
Another important session of the EaPeReg Plenary was dedicated to International Cooperation During this session the representatives of the international partners of EaPeReg – BEREC Office, ITU Office for Europe, EMERG, and IIC – described the common activities/projects fulfilled during 2023 and proposed the topics for bilateral cooperation in 2024. The representatives of international partners of EaPeReg expressed their gratitude to the Network for cooperation.
During the Plenary meeting, the EaPeReg Chair and Vice Chair 2024 were elected. Sergiu Gaibu, Director of ANRCETI, National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Moldovawas nominated as the Chair 2024. Valeriu Zgonea, President of ANCOM, National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications of Romania was elected as the Vice Chair of the Network. After the elections, ANCOM representative presented the EaPeReg Work Plan 2024. At the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024, the Work Plan will be submitted to the DG CNECT and DG NEAR for approval.
On 30 November 3-Lateral Workshop on”Strengthening Broadband Infrastructure and Services across the Europe Region and beyond” between EaPeReg, EMERG and ITU was held at ComCom premises. It was the third workshop held within the framework of Joint Declaration signed by EaPeReg, EMERG and ITU on 5 June 2023. 3-lateral Workshop on “Strengthening Broadband Infrastructure and Services across the Europe Region and beyond” stems from the joint declaration signed by the Chairs of EaPeReg, EMERG and the Director of BDT/ITUon 5 June 2023.
Main objective of the Workshop was to serve as a platform for the NRAs of EaPeReg and EMERG to share good practices, address challenges related to emerging technologies, and facilitate the creation of potential new features of broadband infrastructure and services mapping tools. The workshop supported promoting harmonization of approaches across the participating regions, thereby enhancing the cooperation in the field of broadband infrastructure and services mapping. Broadband infrastructure is referred to in the Directive 2014/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on measures to reduce the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks. Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code.
The full report of the meetings can be found here: https://eapereg.org/library/eapereg-22nd-plenary-meeting-and-3-lateral-workshop-between-eapereg-emerg-and-itu/
