New EU telecoms rules will officially become EU law tomorrow following their publication in today's Official Journal of the European Union. The new rules composed of the Better Regulation Directive and the Citizens’ Rights Directive will need to be transposed into national laws of the 27 EU Member States by June 2011. The new Regulation establishing the new European Telecoms Authority called "Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC)" is directly applicable and will enter into force in 20 days.

This final step in the EU legislative process follows the approval otf these rules by the Council of Ministers after a political agreement on the package was reached in a breakthrough meeting between the European Parliament and Council on 5 November.

As a result of the EU Telecoms reform, 500 million EU citizens will be able to benefit from more consumer choice through enhanced competition on Europe’s telecoms markets, from better coverage over fast internet broadband connections across Europe, and from a stronger entrenchment of their right to privacy in their telecommunications. On the spectrum side, it is now up to the Member States to adapt their allocation and licensing systems to the new rules, to provide greater flexibility for spectrum users.

The new European Telecoms Authority BEREC is made up of the heads of the 27 national telecoms regulators. Decisions will be taken, as a rule, by two-thirds majority and by simple majority when BEREC gives opinions in the context of the Commission's analysis of measures notified to the European Commission by national regulators. BEREC decisions will be prepared with the support of independent experts. BEREC will also advise, support and complement the independent work of national telecoms regulators, especially when it comes to regulatory decisions with cross-border aspects.