Europarlementariërs klaar om roamingtarieven mobiel bellen aan te pakken (en)

European lawmakers are set to endorse a new law that will force mobile phone operators to slash inter-European international mobile phone calls by up to 70 percent, but they are still divided over how exactly the cap should work.

MEPs in the European Parliament's industry, research and energy committee will today (12 April) vote on a report proposing to reduce the so-called roaming charges to a maximum €0.40 for outgoing calls, and €0.15 for incoming calls, plus value-added tax, when using the phone abroad.

According to the International Herald Tribune, MEPs from the major political parties on the 52-member committee - except the Greens - have endorsed the plan.

However, disagreement still persists across the political lines on how the cap should work once in effect such as whether customers should receive the new regulated tariffs automatically or have to request them once they get a new contract.

The European Commission, which proposed the legislation, wants the caps to apply automatically with customers allowed to opt out if they want a different contract.

Europe's telecom industry have lobbied hard against regulating roaming - which is a service that is estimated to be worth €8.5 billion a year - and sees the push to limit retail prices as dangerous and unprecedented government control.

"I urge the parliament and [national telecom and industry ministers] not to risk introducing distortions into the roaming market that will remove incentives to compete and penalise some customers," said Rob Conway, chief executive of the Brussels-based GSM association, which lobbies for more than 690 European mobile phone operators, according to Dow Jones news agency.

But in MEPs, telecoms companies have consumers that directly feel the effects of roaming costs.

"Basically, the industry has neglected to realise one thing: EU parliamentarians have to travel across a lot of national borders and most of us have had to pay these charges personally," said UK liberal MEP Sharon Bowles.

Voluntary measures failed

EU information society and media commissioner Viviane Reding - responsible for the law - opened the battle against the telecoms operator in 2006 after years of voluntary measures failed to see prices drop, saying the fees were unjustifiably high for the union's millions of mobile phone subscribers.

The proposal has gained support with the public across the bloc with commission figures showing that some 70 percent of EU citizens are behind such a move.

"In this important phase of the legislative procedure, it is of crucial importance to ensure that all consumers in the EU will be able to benefit from lower roaming charges, and that no one is left behind," Ms Reding said in a statement ahead of the vote.

The Commission drew up the plans to regulate roaming rates after finding evidence of huge variations between operators with roaming calls costing some times up to six times those of local mobile calls.

Ms Reding has long argued that the EU internal market also counts for mobile phone calls.

The full parliament votes on the proposed law in early May while EU telecoms ministers are expected to make a final decision in June.