6.11.2002

On Wednesday, November 7, The Romanian Government, The Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations and The International Telecommunication Union launched the Regional Ministerial Conference in preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society, held in Bucharest between 7-9 November 2002. The conference will be attended by 1500 representatives of the 55 UNCE member states, from Europe, USA, Canada and Israel.

The National Regulatory Authority for Communications will be present at this event, along with other representatives of the regulatory authorities form Croatia, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Ukraine, Moldova and Portugal. The conference is considered an excellent opportunity for creating a basis for dialogue between the European ruling bodies and for exchanging information about the different European policies in the field of communications.

Ion Smeeianu, ANRC President, Alexandrina Hirtan, Vice-president, and other representatives of ANRC will be present on Friday at a meeting with representatives of the European regulatory bodies present at the Pan-European Conference in Bucharest. During this reunion the participants will exchange know-how on the best practices identified in the national programs for the implementation of the European regulations in the field of communications. "We have organized this meeting with the representatives of the ruling authorities from other European countries because in some of these states the liberalization of the market has already taken place and some other have to face challenges similar to those Romania tackles today. "ANRC could benefit from the experience of the ruling authorities that have met situations that could also occur in Romania, after the January 1st", declared the President of ANRC, Ion Smeeianu. "Romania is the first state that is implementing the European regulations in this domain, which are considered a novelty even in the UE member countries. Therefore, establishing permanent communication channels with the other European country regulatory bodies is deemed indispensable even by the European States, which are interested in the Romanian experience", added Vice-president Alexandrina Hirtan.

The conference in Bucharest hosts 1500 participants, representing governments, the private business sector, civil society and mass-media. This event is one of the most important steps in the preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society, having as purpose the identification of new solutions for the "Digital Divide" and intensification of international cooperation, so that the all the world countries could partake the benefits of the Informational Society.