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THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207(4), first subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,Whereas:
(1)The Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other partnote (the ‘Agreement’) entered into force on 1 July 2016.
(2)Pursuant to Article 452(2) of the Agreement, if the Parties agree that the necessary measures have been implemented and are being enforced, the Association Council established under the Agreement is to agree on further market opening with respect to the sector concerned by regulatory approximation.
(3)Article 436(3) of the Agreement provides that the Association Council is to have the power to update or amend the Annexes to the Agreement.
(4)In the course of 2025, the Association Council is to adopt a Decision on the Union and the Republic of Moldova (‘Moldova’) granting each other further market opening with respect to the sector of roaming on public mobile communications networks and on amending Annex XXVIII-B to the Agreement.
(5)Article 1(2), point (g), of the Agreement provides that the aim of the Agreement is, inter alia, to establish conditions for enhanced economic and trade relations leading towards the Republic of Moldova’s gradual integration in the Union internal market, including by setting up a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, which will provide for far-reaching regulatory approximation and market access liberalisation, in compliance with the rights and obligations arising out of World Trade Organization membership and the transparent application of those rights and obligations.
(6)As stated in the preamble to the Agreement and in accordance with Article 448 of the Agreement, the Parties to the Agreement recognise the importance of the approximation of Moldova’s existing legislation to Union law, meaning that Moldova is to ensure that its existing and future legislation be made compatible with the Union acquis.
(7)Moldova has requested further integration with regard to the roaming sector in the Union, in particular through further market opening for the purpose of roaming services.
(8)Decision No 1/2023 of the EU-Republic of Moldova Association Committee in Trade configurationnote complemented Annex XXVIII-B (Rules applicable to telecommunication services) to the Agreement with the relevant Union acts relating to roaming on public mobile communications networks.
(9)Pursuant to Article 407(3) of the Agreement, on 9 May 2025, Moldova informed the Union that it considered it had completed the regulatory approximation with respect to the Union acquis in the sector of roaming on public mobile communications networks. On 3 and 20 June 2025, Moldova supplemented its initial notification after adopting the remaining transposition measures.
(10)Pursuant to Articles 409 and 451 of the Agreement, the Union carried out an assessment and determined, on the basis of that assessment, that Moldova had completed the regulatory approximation with the Union acquis regarding roaming.
(11)On this basis, it is appropriate for the Association Council to decide pursuant to Article 452(2) of the Agreement on the reciprocal granting of further market opening with respect to the sector of roaming on public mobile communications networks between the Union and Moldova.
(12)To ensure legal certainty as regards the scope of the Union acquis regarding roaming, it should be specified in Annex XXVIII-B to the Agreement which provisions are relevant for that purpose.
(13)It is therefore appropriate to establish the position to be adopted on the Union’s behalf within the Association Council, as the Decision of the Association Council on the reciprocal granting of further market opening with respect to the sector of roaming on public mobile communications networks and on amending Annex XXVIII-B will be binding upon the Union,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1#
The position to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in the course of 2025 within the Association Council established by the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part, as regards the further market opening with respect to the sector of roaming on public mobile communications networks and amending Annex XXVIII-B (Rules applicable to telecommunication services) to that Association Agreement shall be based on the draft Decision of the Association Council attached to this Decision.
Annex XXVIII-B (Rules applicable to telecommunication services) to the Agreement shall be amended by replacing the text starting with the paragraph concerning Directive (EU) 2018/1972 and ending with the paragraph concerning Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 with the following text:
‘Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (recast) (“EECC”).Without prejudice to Moldova’s obligation to implement Directive (EU) 2018/1972 fully and completely for the purpose of an eventual decision by the Association Council to grant further market opening for telecommunication services pursuant to Article 452(2), for the purpose of an eventual decision by the Association Council to grant further market opening for roaming pursuant to Article 452(2) the following provisions of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 need to be implemented:
—Article 1 – Subject matter, scope and aims
—Article 11 – Cooperation with national authorities
—Article 40 – Exchange of information, paragraphs (1), (2), (4), and (5)
—Article 12 – General authorisation of electronic communications networks and services
—Article 42 – Declarations of interests, paragraphs (1) and (2).
—Article 13 – Conditions attached to the general authorisation and to the rights of use for radio spectrum and for numbering resources, and specific obligations, except all mentions to the rights of use for radio spectrum and numbering resources and the cross references to Article 45, Article 51, Article 62, Article 68, Article 83, and Article 94
—Article 14 – Declarations to facilitate the exercise of rights to install facilities and rights of interconnection
—Article 15 – Minimum list of rights derived from the general authorisation
—Article 16 – Administrative charges
—Article 17 – Accounting separation and financial reports
—Article 18 – Amendment of rights and obligations, except all mentions to the rights of use for radio spectrum, numbering resources and to install facilities
—Article 19 – Restriction or withdrawal of rights, except all mentions to the rights of use for radio spectrum, numbering resources and to install facilities
—Article 20 – Information request to undertakings
—Article 1 – Subject matter and scope, paragraph (5)
—Article 12 – Review.
—Article 3 – Objectives of BEREC, paragraph (5)
—Article 2 – Definitions, points (1) and (2), (4) to (11), (13) to (16), (22), (27) to (34), (36), and (38) to (40)
—Article 21 – Information required with regard to the general authorisation, rights of use and specific obligations, except all mentions to rights of use and specific obligations and the cross references to Article 13(2), Article 22, and Annex I, parts D and E
—Article 23 – Consultation and transparency mechanism, except paragraph (2) and the cross references to Article 32(10), and Article 45(4) and (5)
—Article 24 – Consultation of interested parties
—Article 25 – Out-of-court dispute resolution
—Article 26 – Dispute resolution between undertakings
—Article 27 – Resolution of cross-border disputes, paragraphs (1) and (2), and paragraphs (4) to (6)
—Article 29 – Penalties, paragraph (1)
—Article 30 – Compliance with the conditions of the general authorisation or of rights of use for radio spectrum and for numbering resources and compliance with specific obligations, except all mentions to the rights of use for radio spectrum and numbering resources and the cross references to Article 4, Article 13(2), Article 45(1), Article 47, Article 67, and Article 69
—Article 31 – Right of appeal
—Article 59 – General framework for access and interconnection
—Article 3 – Wholesale roaming access, paragraph (8)
—Article 4(2) to (5)
—Article 4 – Regulatory tasks of BEREC, paragraph (4)
—Article 3 – General objectives
—Article 60 – Rights and obligations of undertakings, paragraphs (1) and (2)
—Article 61 – Powers and responsibilities of the national regulatory and other competent authorities with regard to access and interconnection, paragraph (1), paragraph (2), points (a) to (c), paragraphs (3), (5) and (6)
—Article 75 – Termination rates, paragraphs (2) and (3)
—Article 93 – Numbering resources, the first subparagraph of paragraph (5)
—Article 97 – Access to numbers and services
—Article 99 – Non-discrimination
—Article 100 – Fundamental rights safeguard
—Article 108 – Availability of services
—Article 111 – Equivalent access and choice for end-users with disabilities
—Article 120 – Publication of information
—Article 4 – Provision of regulated retail roaming services, paragraph (3)
—Article 5(2).
—Article 7 – Composition of the Board of Regulators, paragraphs (1) to (3)
—Article 5 – National regulatory and other competent authorities
—Article 122 – Review procedures, the second and third subparagraphs of paragraph (1)
—Annex I – List of conditions which may be attached to general authorisations, rights of use for radio spectrum and rights of use for numbering resources, parts A to C
—Annex III – Criteria for the determination of wholesale voice termination rates.
—Article 7 – Implementation of fair use policy and of sustainability mechanism, paragraphs (1) to (3) and (5). The exception regarding Article 7(1) to (3) is without prejudice to Moldova’s obligation to implement the implementing acts on the application of fair use policies, the methodology for assessing sustainability of the provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices and the application to be submitted by a roaming provider for the purpose of the assessment of the sustainability
—Article 8 – Independence of the Board of Regulators
—Article 6 – Independence of national regulatory and other competent authorities
—Article 8 – Exceptional application of retail surcharges for the consumption of regulated retail roaming services and provision of alternative tariffs, paragraph (6)
—Article 11 – Meetings of the Board of Regulators, paragraph (5)
—Article 7 – Appointment and dismissal of members of national regulatory authorities
—The first and third subparagraphs of Article 16 – Databases of numbering ranges for value-added services and means of access to emergency services
—Article 12 – Voting rules of the Board of Regulators, paragraph (2)
—Article 8 – Political independence and accountability of the national regulatory authorities
—Article 20 – Committee procedure
—Article 15 – Composition of the Management Board, paragraphs (1) to (3)
—Article 9 – Regulatory capacity of national regulatory authorities
—Article 21 – Review
—Article 18 – Meetings of the Management Board, paragraph (5)
—Article 10 – Participation of national regulatory authorities in BEREC
—Article 23 – Repeal.
—Article 38 – Confidentiality, paragraph (2)
Timetable: the provisions of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 shall be implemented within 1 year after the date of entry into force of this Decision.Regulation (EU) 2022/612 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 April 2022 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (recast).The provisions of Regulation (EU) 2022/612 shall, for the purposes of this Agreement, be read with the following adaptation: Article 1(4) refers to reference exchange rates published by the European Central Bank in the Official Journal of the European Union. For as long as the European Central Bank does not publish exchange rates for the Moldovan leu, exchange rates between the euro and the Moldovan leu published by the National Bank of Moldova should be used for the purposes of applying Article 1(4). The reference periods and conditions laid down in Article 1(4) remain unchanged.Implement all provisions with the exception of:Timetable: the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2022/612 shall be implemented within 2 years after the date of entry into force of this Decision.Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2286 of 15 December 2016 laying down detailed rules on the application of fair use policy and on the methodology for assessing the sustainability of the abolition of retail roaming surcharges and on the application to be submitted by a roaming provider for the purposes of that assessment.Implement all provisions with the exception of:Timetable: the provisions of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2286 shall be implemented within 2 years after the date of entry into force of this Decision.Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/654 of 18 December 2020 supplementing Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council by setting a single maximum Union-wide mobile voice termination rate and a single maximum Union-wide fixed voice termination rate.The provisions of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/654 shall, for the purposes of this Agreement, be read with the following adaptation: Article 3(2) and 3(3) refers to reference exchange rates published by the European Central Bank in the Official Journal of the European Union. For as long as the European Central Bank does not publish exchange rates for the Moldovan leu, exchange rates between the euro and the Moldovan leu published by the National Bank of Moldova should be used for the purposes of applying Article 3(2) and 3(3). The reference period laid down in Article 3(2) is adapted to the latest relevant quarter for which information is available. The reference periods and conditions laid down in Article 3(3) remain unchanged.Moldova shall implement Article 1(1), Article 3(1), Article 4(1) and Article 5(1) by mandating its operators not to exceed the single maximum European Union-wide mobile voice termination rate and the single maximum European Union-wide fixed voice termination rate, respectively.Implement all provisions with the exception of:Timetable: the provisions of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/654 shall be implemented before the Roaming Regulation and shall be implemented within 2 years after the date of entry into force of this Decision.Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office), amending Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009.Implement the following provisions:The national regulatory authority of Moldova with primary responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day operation of the markets for electronic communications networks and services shall participate fully in the work of the Board of Regulators of BEREC, the working groups of BEREC and the Management Board of the BEREC Office. The national regulatory authority of Moldova shall have the same rights and obligations as the national regulatory authorities of the Member States of the Union, except for the right to vote and for the Chairmanship of the Board of Regulators and of the Management Board.In light thereof, the national regulatory authority of Moldova shall be represented at an appropriate level in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1971. In accordance with the relevant rules of the Regulation (EU) 2018/1971, BEREC and the BEREC Office shall, as the case may be, assist the national regulatory authority of Moldova in the performance of its tasks.The national regulatory authority of Moldova shall take the utmost account of any guideline, opinion, recommendation, common position and best practices adopted by BEREC with the aim of ensuring the consistent implementation of the regulatory framework for electronic communications. For the purpose of market opening for roaming pursuant to Article 452(2), the national regulatory authority of Moldova shall take the utmost account of any guideline adopted by BEREC with the aim of ensuring the consistent implementation of the regulatory framework on roaming and shall provide reasons when deviating from such a guideline.Timetable: the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 shall be implemented within 1 year after the date of entry into force of this Decision..
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