EU-ministers vergaderen over kosten bij gebruik mobieltje in buitenland (en)

EU telecoms ministers will on Monday (11 December) discuss how to cut the price of mobile phone calls when made abroad within the EU - but European capitals have very different opinions on how to handle so-called roaming rates.

At a meeting in Brussels, the 25 ministers will debate proposals tabled by the European Commission in July, which aim to axe mobile roaming costs by more than half.

Officials from the Finnish EU presidency hosting the meeting are not expecting "an easy run," said Nina Vaskunlahti - an official from the Finnish presidency - according to AFP.

Roaming occurs when a mobile phone owner of one service provider uses the facilities of another service provider.

It is the cost of this service that the commission would like to see cut as it says new technology has made the service cheaper but consumers have not benefited.

Germany, which takes over the rotating EU presidency in January, would like to get a deal in the first half of 2007 so EU holidaymakers can enjoy cheaper rates while abroad next summer.

But six countries - led by the UK - are sceptical about the plans of regulating the market by law while France, Ireland and Italy are backing commission legislation but want to include text messages in the scheme.

Brussels claims it was forced to intervene after it found that voluntary industry measures proved ineffective.

The telecoms industry however sees the potential law as a major threat, with the GSM Association saying average roaming cost in Europe have already fallen by 22 percent since last year.

It added that competition will cause further price cuts without heavy-handed interference by the EU executive, with the European Parliament set to face intense lobbying when it debates the commission scheme early next year.