Director of the Agency for Communications Networks and Services of the Republic of Slovenia (AKOS) and Chair of the IRG and BEREC mag. Marko Mišmaš opened the IRG Forum 2026 in Brussels today with a keynote speech entitled "Planning for the Future.
The event aimed to discuss how to create a stable, predictable and forward-looking regulatory environment in Europe that encourages investment and innovation while maintaining effective competition and benefits for end-users. The debate, relevant in the context of the current European discussions on the future of digital networks and the proposal for a Digital Network Act, brought together representatives from European regulators, the European Union institutions, academia and the digital industry.
In his opening remarks, AKOS Director Marko Mišmaš stressed the importance of a thoughtful, stable and forward-looking regulatory environment. This must allow investment in high performance digital networks, while preserving the conditions for competition, innovation and benefits for end-users.
The Forum addressed one of the central questions of European digital policy: how to ensure that digital markets remain open, competitive and innovative, while being attractive enough to attract long-term investment. Participants discussed the relationship between competition, innovation and investment, the role of regulation in stimulating the development of digital infrastructure, and how to design rules fit for the next decade.
Professor Philippe Aghion, recipient of the 2025 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, received the prize together with Joel Mokyr and Peter Howitt for his explanation of innovation-driven economic growth, with Aghion and Howitt being particularly well known for their theory of sustainable growth through creative destruction. This concept explains how new technologies, products and business models can substitute for existing ones, thereby fostering long-term development, if the conditions for innovation are properly in place. The panellists included experts in the fields of artificial intelligence, competition, digital markets, finance and regulation, including Dr Luc Julia, Dr Nico Grove, Emanuele Tarantino, Irek Gawlik and Professor Thomas Philippon. The debates were moderated by Javier Espinoza, Europe Executive Editor at The Capitol Forum.
AKOS is actively contributing to the European debate on the future of electronic communications markets in 2026 through the leadership of the IRG and BEREC, with a focus on the public interest, the development of reliable and efficient digital infrastructures, user protection and the conditions for effective competition.
The IRG, or Independent Regulators Group, is the European association of independent national regulators for electronic communications. It brings together regulators from European countries to promote cooperation, exchange of experience and harmonisation of views on the development and regulation of telecoms markets.
