The Commission endorsed the proposal, now it is up to the Government to approve it or start a negotiation
European citizens could receive a long-waited Christmas present in 2015: the possibility of using their mobiles in any EU Member State without additional costs. MEPs in fact, during the Brussels Plenary Session, voted to ban roaming charges as of 15 December 2015. The end of extra costs for roaming services was part of a wider report towards a single market for telecommunications, approved by large majority (534 votes to 25, with 58 abstentions)
Parliament voted “a great step towards strengthening the telecommunications single market,” said rapporteur Pilar del Castillo Vera (EPP), “Parliament wants to abolish retail roaming charges for voice, SMS and data by 15 December 2015 and improve radio spectrum management to develop 4G and 5G throughout Europe.”
“Today’s vote the hideous European roaming charges for mobile users will be water under the bridge,” said Francesco De Angelis, already a negotiator for the S&D of the action program for the future of the Digital Agenda after 2015. “Europe is a land of opportunities, especially when it is able to simplify its citizens’ life.”
According to Roberta Angilli, Vice President of the European Parliament, “it is a significant leap towards the single market of telecoms, as well as a further step towards the realization of the possibility for European citizens to travel free, using their mobile phones without changing network operator nor tariffs, in any country of the Union.”
Parliament vote aimed at consolidating the work done so far and hand it over to the next Parliament. This ensures that the MEPs newly elected in May can build on work done during the current term, to allow European citizens to call, send SMS or access the Internet from any EU Member State at the same cost. It is now up to governments to decide whether to implement the proposal or initiate a negotiation. The Commission is definitely supporting the abolition of roaming costs, as explained by the Commissioner of the EU for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes: “This vote is the EU delivering for citizens. This is what the EU is all about – getting rid of barriers to make life easier and less expensive;” adding “In 2010 I promised to end roaming charges by the end of 2015, and now we are one step away from achieving that result.”
