Overview of CEPT/ECC meeting formats

Information for external parties 

An overview of the typical format/setup of CEPT/ECC meetings is provided below, for particular benefit of external parties – e.g. contractors involved in technical/administrative support for these meetings. 

The ECC and its various sub-groups hold multi-day meetings of between around 20-100 physical participants, with a similar number attending remotely. Expected numbers for individual meetings will be confirmed in advance. 

The meetings are run with 4 or 5 meeting sessions per day of around 90 minutes each and breaks in between. The timetable is made available in advance, however timings are subject to change during the meeting and sessions can over-run. 

The group chair is responsible for the overall running of the meeting. The chairman may be supported by 1 or 2 vice chairs and a secretary, as well as an expert from the ECO.  

Individual sessions are chaired by either the group chair or delegated to chairs of sub-working groups or drafting groups. These session chairs will swap their position at the front of the room during the break where necessary. 

The session chair needs to share their laptop screen to the in-room participants and those following online (see separate guidance on the technical setup). During a typical session Word documents are displayed and interactively edited, with participants introducing documents and making proposals from the floor (in the room or online). 

In some cases videos may be played, with audio that needs to be heard by both in-room and online participants. 

Parallel sessions in additional rooms are sometimes required – any such requirements will be communicated in advance of the meeting. Additional rooms may not be needed for all sessions and the need for a specific room may change at short notice. 

Remote participants have the same participation rights as those in the room and may need to take the floor, or in exceptional circumstances chair a session from remotely. Some may choose to use cameras when taking the floor, however most prefer to use audio only. A camera feed of the room is recommended in the technical setup, so that remote participants can see what is happening in the room. Passive remote participants normally keep their camera disabled and microphone muted. Sometimes microphones are accidentally left open.