Brussels, 29/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The different groups at the European Parliament have made a number of comments on the adoption of the report on roaming by the ITRE committee on 28 February.
The Greens/EFA Group voted against the report because they believed the prices proposed lacked ambition, particularly in the area of data traffic. They emphasised that the real costs are not fundamentally higher for a roaming call than one made at national level. “There is no logical reason for maintaining exorbitant roaming prices”, exclaimed Philippe Lamberts from Belgium. He added that “the EP has quite simply chosen a mish-mash around different ceilings, without managing to provide any real or sustainable solution”. The S&D Group voted for the report but regretted that “the Commission and many colleagues at the parliament lack the courage to fight for a single mobile communications market”. The group also believes that maintaining different prices for roaming calls is illogical and the costs for data transfers are still exorbitant. The EPP Group is delighted and hopes that there will be a consensus with the Council towards the middle of April. The rapporteur, Angelika Niebler, stated that “this vote is an excellent starting point for greater transparency, competition and lower prices on the mobile roaming market”. The ALDE Group is delighted that the ITRE committee moved towards a levelling out of mobile telephone costs in cross-border and resident countries. Data downloading and roaming ceilings were also welcomed, as was the provision enabling consumers to choose a different operator abroad. The ECR Group said that a regulation was not the ideal solution but remains necessary, given the lack of competition. The Conservatives welcome the opportunity to choose another operator outside national borders. Giles Chichester said that the fear of losing customers would help bring down prices. (IL/transl.fl)