EU votes to abolish Roaming Charges

After a long battle, the EU moved a step closer to abolishing mobile roaming charges completely for European citizens. The European Commission today voted to abolish the charges by the end of 2015. The final step is for each member state to review the regulation and final approval is expected by the end of this year.

European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, who has been instrumental in the push to remove these punitive charges, had this to say:

“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.”

“Nearly all of us depend on mobile and internet connections as part of our daily lives. We should know what we are buying, we should not be ripped-off, and we should have the opportunity to change our mind. Companies should have the chance to serve all of us, and this regulation makes it easier for them to do that. It’s win-win.”

“In 2010 I promised to end roaming charges by the end of 2015, and now we are one step away from achieving that result.”

“Beyond the highly visible barrier of roaming we are now close to removing many other barriers so Europeans can enjoy open, seamless communications wherever they are“.

As yet we haven’t heard any comment from the mobile networks, who have needless to say, resisted this from the outset.
For more information you can check out the European Commission’s “Connected Continent” page which has more details of the overall plan behind the roaming charge removal.