Limerick: The Digital Networks Act dominated the informal meeting of EU telecommunications ministers on 12 and 13 October 2026, as the Irish presidency tested whether governments can accept the Commission’s plan for a faster move to fibre. Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen joined the talks, which centred on connectivity and the proposed regulation.

The Digital Networks Act would replace much of the current telecoms rulebook with a single regulation. Member states now have to decide how far they trust Brussels to steer a market that national regulators have governed for two decades. The presidency used the informal format to probe those limits before formal negotiations harden positions.

The sharpest question concerns copper. The Digital Networks Act sets a deadline of 31 December 2038 for switching off copper lines and moving customers to full fibre. Ministers had to say whether that timeline is realistic and which switch-off decisions should stay with capitals. Operators in rural regions will watch the answer closely, because a rigid date raises costs where fibre is expensive to lay.

Governance is the second fault line. The proposal would give the Commission a veto over interventions by national regulators, and the Irish presidency asked delegations to examine that power and the deadlines for national market analyses. Supporters of the veto argue that it keeps the internal market consistent. Critics see a transfer of authority that treaties and tradition left with national bodies.

Finland has pushed back on the administrative side. Helsinki argues that the planning and reporting duties in the Digital Networks Act add bureaucracy without improving coverage. That objection matters because simplification sits at the heart of the Commission’s competitiveness agenda, and a text that adds paperwork undercuts its own justification.

Space connectivity adds a further layer. The Commission proposes to split the 2 GHz mobile satellite services band into six blocks, with one third reserved for government use and the rest shared between new European entrants and other European or foreign operators. Finland welcomed that approach, according to Agence Europe’s report on the meeting.

Informal councils produce no conclusions, so nobody should expect a vote or a joint text. They do show where the compromise will have to form. The Parliament’s research service has already published a briefing on the Digital Networks Act, and MEPs will add their own demands on spectrum and consumer protection.

The Irish presidency now carries the findings into the formal Telecom Council track. The Digital Networks Act will only succeed if ministers can agree on a realistic copper date, a lighter reporting regime and a clear limit on the Commission’s veto. Operators, regulators and the 2026 negotiating calendar all point to a hard winter of talks in Brussels.