The European Commission was not competent to admit Kosovo to participate in the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Tuesday 17 January (Case C-632/20 P).
In March 2019, the Commission adopted six decisions on the participation of the national regulatory authorities of the Western Balkan countries in the European body BEREC, whose task is to improve the functioning of the internal market for electronic communications networks and services.
Spain is challenging the EU General Court’s judgment of September 2020 dismissing its action for annulment of the Commission’s decision (T-370/19), which authorised the Kosovo authority to participate in BEREC’s work. According to Madrid, which does not officially recognise Kosovo, the latter is not a ‘third country’ within the meaning of the BEREC Regulation (2018/1971).
In its judgment, the Court considers that the General Court erred in law in holding that the concept of ‘third country’ within the meaning of the Regulation is broader than that of ‘third State’. The different language versions of the TEU and TFEU treaties do not allow for the conclusion that there is a difference in meaning between the terms ‘third countries’ and ‘third States’, it says.
According to the European Court, the General Court committed a further error of law by holding that BEREC does not have exclusive competence to establish the working arrangements applicable to the participation of third country regulators. The General Court’s interpretation cannot be reconciled with BEREC’s independence, the Court points out, annulling the Commission’s decision on Kosovo because of this error.
However, in order not to jeopardise the participation of the Kosovo authority in BEREC, the effects of this decision shall be maintained until the entry into force of new working arrangements between BEREC and the Kosovo authority, but no later than 6 months from this Tuesday.
See the judgment of the Court of Justice: https://aeur.eu/f/4xj (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)