Cyprus

[CY] Designation of Digital Service Coordinator in the Republic of Cyprus

IRIS 2024-4:1/20

Antigoni Themistokleous

Cyprus Radiotelevision Authority

Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (the Digital Services Act – DSA), a landmark piece of legislation and a new world-leading regulatory framework, entered into force on 16 November 2022. Within the context of the DSA and in order to ensure efficient enforcement of the same, each member state had to designate a Digital Services Coordinator (DSC) – a national authority, independent of government that is in charge of all matters relating to the application and enforcement of the DSA. DSCs help the European Commission to monitor and enforce obligations contained in the DSA. The designation of national DSCs is provided in Article 49 of the DSA.

The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus designated the Cyprus Radio Television Authority (CRTA) as the DSC in the Republic of Cyprus; the decision was taken on 2 February 2024 and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic on 1 March 2024. The CRTA issued a public announcement about its designation as the Cypriot DSC, noting also that the adoption of the relevant legislative framework is still pending.

In addition, the Council of Ministers designated the CRTA, the Office of the Commissioner for Electronic Communications and Postal Regulation (OCECPR), the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, and the Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection as competent authorities for the implementation of the DSA. It further decided to designate as a competent authority any other department/office/service that may be deemed necessary through the provisions of the DSA.

Moreover, the Council of Ministers decided:

- that the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy should take, as soon as possible, the necessary steps and finance a techno-economic study as referenced in paragraph 5 of their proposal to the Council of Ministers.

- to approve the establishment of a working group, consisting of a representative of the coordinator and a representative of each competent authority, which will be the transitional body for the implementation of said regulation (the DSA) and for cooperation with the competent EU institutions, from the first day of the implementation of the DSA, that is 17 February 2024 until the implementation of the recommendations of the aforementioned techno-economic study.


References


  • Ορισμός της Αρχής Ραδιοτηλεόρασης Κύπρου ως Εθνικού Συντονιστή για την εφαρμογή του Κανονισμού (ΕΕ) 2022/2065 σχετικά με την ενιαία αγορά ψηφιακών υπηρεσιών (Digital Services Act)
  • https://crta.org.cy/assets/uploads/pdfs/Anakoinosi1.3.2024.pdf
  • Appointment of the Cyprus Broadcasting Authority as National Coordinator for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on the Digital Services Act


This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.