EU consumers will benefit from the elimination of roaming charges for another ten years . Negotiators from the EU states and the European Parliament agreed to extend the popular rules beyond June 2022, both sides announced. Consumer advocates welcomed the agreement, but called for further improvements.
Since June 15, 2017, roaming charges have been waived in the 27 EU countries as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. This means that consumers can use their mobile phone to make calls, surf the Internet or write text messages on their mobile phones at the same cost as they do at home. Sending a photo in a family chat from the Greek beach or calling friends back home from Paris does not involve any risk of additional costs. According to surveys, the EU regime is very popular with citizens. Actually, it would have expired in the middle of next year. However, the EU Commission suggested extending it.
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The agreement also provides for changes to the existing
rules. In this way, consumers abroad should be able to enjoy the same quality
of services whenever possible. "Deliberate throttling is a thing of the
past", said the Austrian MEP and chief negotiator of the parliament
Angelika Winzig. In addition, the prices that network operators mutually charge
each other for roaming are to be further reduced significantly. The emergency
number should also be able to be contacted free of charge.
Consumer advocate complains of "disproportionate
surcharges"
Ursula Pachl from the European consumer association Beuc said that it was good news that the roaming charges would continue to drop and the network quality should be improved. At the same time, she complained that the agreement did not include the cost of calls from home to other EU countries. Although these are now capped in the EU, they are still very high compared to domestic tariffs.
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"Consumers still have to pay disproportionate surcharges when calling or texting someone who lives in another EU country," said Pachl. For calls to other EU countries, a maximum of 19 cents per minute is due. An SMS costs a maximum of six cents.
According to the agreement, the EU Commission should now examine whether a further limitation of costs is necessary. The Council of EU States and the European Parliament still have to confirm the decision, but this is considered a formality.
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