Privileges and immunities
Article 34
The Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union shall apply to the BEREC Office and its staff.
Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 CHAPTER IX — GENERAL PROVISIONS
Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Cooperation with Union bodies, third countries and international organisations
Article 35
1. In so far as necessary in order to achieve the objectives set out in this Regulation and carry out its tasks, and without prejudice to the competences of the Member States and the institutions of the Union, BEREC and the BEREC Office may cooperate with competent Union bodies, offices, agencies and advisory groups, with competent authorities of third countries and with international organisations. To that end, BEREC and the BEREC Office may, subject to prior approval by the Commission, establish working arrangements. Those arrangements shall not create legal obligations. 2. The Board of Regulators, the working groups and the Management Board shall be open to the participation of regulatory authorities of third countries with primary responsibility in the field of electronic communications, where those third countries have entered into agreements with the Union to that effect. Under the relevant provisions of those agreements, working arrangements shall be developed specifying, in particular, the nature, extent and manner in which the regulatory authorities of the third countries concerned will participate without the right to vote in the work of BEREC and of the BEREC Office, including provisions relating to participation in the initiatives carried out by BEREC, financial contributions and staff to the BEREC Office. As regards staff matters, those arrangements shall, in any event, comply with the Staff Regulations. 3. As part of the annual work programme referred to in Article 21, the Board of Regulators shall adopt BEREC’s strategy for relations with competent Union bodies, offices, agencies and advisory groups, with competent authorities of third countries and with international organisations concerning matters for which BEREC is competent. The Commission, BEREC and the BEREC Office shall conclude an appropriate working arrangement for the purpose of ensuring that BEREC and the BEREC Office operate within their mandate and the existing institutional framework.
Access to documents and data protection
Article 36
1. Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 20 ) shall apply to documents held by BEREC and the BEREC Office. 2. The Board of Regulators and the Management Board shall, by 21 June 2019, adopt detailed rules for applying Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. 3. The processing of personal data by BEREC and the BEREC Office shall be subject to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. 4. The Board of Regulators and the Management Board shall, by 21 June 2019, establish measures for the application of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 by BEREC and the BEREC Office, including those concerning the appointment of a Data Protection Officer of the BEREC Office. Those measures shall be established after consulting the European Data Protection Supervisor.
Transparency and communication
Article 37
1. BEREC and the BEREC Office shall carry out their activities with a high level of transparency. BEREC and the BEREC Office shall ensure that the public and any interested parties are given appropriate, objective, reliable and easily accessible information, in particular in relation to their tasks and the results of their work. 2. BEREC, supported by the BEREC Office, may engage in communication activities on its own initiative within its field of competence in accordance with relevant communication and dissemination plans adopted by the Board of Regulators. The allocation of resources for such support for communication activities within the BEREC Office’s budget shall not be detrimental to the effective exercise of BEREC's tasks as referred to in Article 4 or the BEREC Office's tasks as referred to in Article 5. Communication activities of the BEREC Office shall be carried out in accordance with relevant communication and dissemination plans adopted by the Management Board.
Confidentiality
Article 38
1. Without prejudice to Article 36(1) and Article 40(2), BEREC and the BEREC Office shall not disclose to third parties information that they process or receive in relation to which a reasoned request for confidential treatment has been made in whole or in part. 2. Members and other participants at the meetings of the Board of Regulators, the Management Board and the working groups, the Director, seconded national experts and other staff not employed by the BEREC Office shall comply with the confidentiality requirements under Article 339 TFEU, even after their duties have ceased. 3. The Board of Regulators and the Management Board shall lay down the practical arrangements for implementing the confidentiality rules referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.
Security rules on the protection of classified and sensitive non-classified information
Article 39
BEREC and the BEREC Office shall adopt their own security rules equivalent to the Commission’s security rules for protecting European Union Classified Information and sensitive non-classified information, inter alia, provisions for the exchange, processing and storage of such information as set out in Commission Decisions (EU, Euratom) 2015/443 ( 21 ) and (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 ( 22 ) . Alternatively, BEREC or the BEREC Office may adopt a decision applying the Commission’s rules mutatis mutandis.
Exchange of information
Article 40
1. Upon the reasoned request of BEREC or the BEREC Office, the Commission and the NRAs represented in the Board of Regulators and other competent authorities shall provide BEREC or the BEREC Office with all the necessary information, in a timely and accurate manner, to carry out their tasks, provided that they have legal access to the relevant information and that the request for information is necessary in relation to the nature of the task in question. BEREC or the BEREC Office may also request such information to be provided at regular intervals and in specified formats. Such requests shall, where possible, be made using common reporting formats. 2. Upon the reasoned request of the Commission or an NRA, BEREC or the BEREC Office shall provide, in a timely and accurate manner, any information that is necessary to enable the Commission, the NRA or other competent authority, to carry out their tasks, pursuant to the principle of sincere cooperation. Where BEREC or the BEREC Office considers information to be confidential, the Commission, the NRA or the other competent authority shall ensure such confidentiality in accordance with Union and national law, including Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Business confidentiality shall not prevent the timely sharing of information. 3. Before requesting information in accordance with this Article and in order to avoid the duplication of reporting obligations, BEREC or the BEREC Office shall take account of any relevant existing information publicly available. 4. Where information is not made available by the NRAs in a timely manner, BEREC or the BEREC Office may address a reasoned request either to other NRAs and other competent authorities of the Member State concerned, or directly to the relevant undertakings providing electronic communications networks, services and associated facilities. BEREC or the BEREC Office shall notify the NRAs that have failed to provide the information of requests in accordance with the first subparagraph. Upon the request of BEREC or the BEREC Office, the NRAs shall assist BEREC in collecting the information. 5. Member States shall ensure that NRAs and other competent authorities have the power to require other responsible national authorities or undertakings providing electronic communications networks and services, associated facilities, or associated services to submit all information necessary to carry out their tasks referred to in this Article. Other responsible national authorities or undertakings as referred to in the first subparagraph shall provide such information promptly upon request and in accordance with the timescales and level of detail required. Member States shall ensure that NRAs and other competent authorities are empowered to enforce such information requests by imposing penalties that are appropriate, effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Information and communication system
Article 41
1. The BEREC Office shall establish and manage an information and communication system with at least the following functions: (a) a common platform for the exchange of information, providing BEREC, the Commission and NRAs with the necessary information for the consistent implementation of the Union regulatory framework for electronic communications; (b) a dedicated interface for requests for information and notification of those requests as referred to in Article 40, for access by BEREC, the BEREC Office, the Commission and NRAs; (c) a platform for early identification of the need for coordination between NRAs. 2. The Management Board shall adopt the technical and functional specifications for the purpose of establishing the information and communication system referred to in paragraph 1. That system shall be subject to intellectual property rights and the required confidentiality level. 3. The information and communication system shall be operational by 21 June 2020.
Declarations of interests
Article 42
1. Members of the Board of Regulators and the Management Board, the Director, seconded national experts and other staff not employed by the BEREC Office shall each make a written declaration indicating their commitments and the absence or presence of any direct or indirect interests that might be considered to prejudice their independence. Such declarations shall be made at the time of taking up responsibilities, shall be accurate and complete, and shall be updated where there is a risk of there being any direct or indirect interest that might be considered to prejudice the independence of the person making the declaration. The declarations made by the members of the Board of Regulators, the members of the Management Board and the Director shall be made public. 2. Members of the Board of Regulators, the Management Board and the working groups, and other participants in their meetings, the Director, seconded national experts and other staff not employed by the BEREC Office shall each accurately and completely declare, at the latest at the start of each meeting, any interest which might be considered to be prejudicial to their independence in relation to the items on the agenda, and shall abstain from participating in the discussion and the voting on, such points. 3. The Board of Regulators and the Management Board shall lay down the rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interests and, in particular, for the practical arrangements for the application of paragraphs 1 and 2.
Combating fraud
Article 43
1. In order to facilitate combating fraud, corruption and other unlawful activities under Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 23 ) , by 21 June 2019, the BEREC Office shall accede to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 25 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the Commission of the European Communities concerning internal investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) ( 24 ) and adopt appropriate provisions applicable to all staff of the BEREC Office using the template set out in the Annex to that Agreement. 2. The Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on-the-spot inspections, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds from the BEREC Office. 3. OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 25 ) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or a contract funded by the BEREC Office. 4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, cooperation agreements with third countries and international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, in accordance with their respective competences.
Liability
Article 44
1. The BEREC Office’s contractual liability shall be governed by the law applicable to the contract in question. 2. The Court of Justice of the European Union (Court of Justice) shall have jurisdiction to give judgment pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in a contract concluded by the BEREC Office. 3. In the case of non-contractual liability, the BEREC Office shall, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States, make good any damage caused by its departments or by its staff in the performance of their duties. 4. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in disputes over compensation for damages referred to in paragraph 3. 5. The personal liability of its staff towards the BEREC Office shall be governed by the provisions laid down in the Staff Regulations or the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants applicable to them.
Administrative inquiries
Article 45
The activities of BEREC and of the BEREC Office shall be subject to the inquiries of the European Ombudsman in accordance with Article 228 TFEU.
Language arrangements
Article 46
1. Regulation No 1 ( 26 ) shall apply to the BEREC Office. 2. The translation services required for the functioning of the BEREC Office shall be provided by the Translation Centre of the Bodies of the European Union.
Back to Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 — full text
Articles on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
What to look at next
Regulation (EU) 2018/1971, full textChapter navigation and full text, so you can read this section in contextEuropean Union legislationEU Legal Acts by type and yearGrouped by instrument type and year of enactment, so you can find others of the same kindBrowse by type and yearEuropean Union: what this database coversWhich datasets are here, which official source they come from, and how current they areEuropean Union overview