On 22-23 September 2020 the experts from Lithuania and Latvia organised workshops for the representatives of the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization of Ukraine on the key aspects of the independence of communications regulator. These remote workshops were organised under the framework of the Twinning Project of the European Union “Strengthening the Regulatory Capacity of the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization in the Areas of Market Access and Quality of Service Monitoring System”.
“The independence of the regulator is significant not only for the communications sector, it is relevant to the entire economy of the state, therefore, it is of utmost importance for such institutions to have a properly prepared legal system and the regulation leverages developed on the grounds thereof”, the Director of RRT Feliksas Dobrovolskis stated to the participants of the workshops. The Head of Public Utilities Commission of Latvia Rolands Irklis also highlighted that both Latvia and Lithuania are among those Member States of the European Union the regulators which have the highest level of independence. In the report “ICT Regulatory Tracker 2019” announced by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Lithuania has been singled out as one of the countries which excel at complying with the regulatory criteria in the field of information communication technologies and took the third place in the world.
The main topics of the seminars were focused on the importance of independence of the regulator, the power of decisions made and influence upon the stakeholders of electronic communications market, cooperation with the institutions defending the rights of the consumers and monitoring the competition. Practical examples of the cases when the European Commission has identified violations of the regulators, pertaining to lack of independence were also introduced to the colleagues from Ukraine. While exchanging the good practice practical recommendations that would enable the Ukrainians to develop the status of an independent regulator which would comply with the requirements established by the European Union have been shared as well.
About the project:
Since September 2019 RRT together with Public Utilities Commission of Latvian is executing the Twinning Project of the European Union in Ukraine “Strengthening the Regulatory Capacity of the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization in the Areas of Market Access and Quality of Service Monitoring System”. The purpose of this project is to enhance and improve the abilities of the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization of Ukraine in the fields of service quality monitoring of electronic communications, access to electronic communications networks and connection of networks.
Project value ‒ 1.3 million of EUR.
Project duration: September 2019 – June 2021.
Project number: UA 18 ENI TE 01 19.
Updated on 2020-09-25