Brussels, 14/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The second of three trilogues held prior to the adoption of the regulation on roaming will take place this Thursday 15 March, after an initial meeting between the parties on 7 March. Talks between the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament are mainly focusing on the price caps for calls, text messages and downloading data when roaming. At this stage in the negotiations, the Council does not support the Parliament in its wish to set lower price caps than those suggested by the European Commission. The third and final trilogue meeting is scheduled for 27 March. Talks will focus on the Parliament's proposal to allow consumers to opt for a local operator for downloading data when abroad (“local break out”). In the view of Monique Goyens, Director-General of the European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC), “the Council must listen to what the Parliament is saying on roaming (…). The caps recently proposed in the ITRE committee's report would bring us closer to a consumer-friendly market in what is a highly uncompetitive one.” She states that most of the current costs charged in Europe to roam are exorbitant and that these caps are a major part of the solution. “As the Council finalises its stance, it's important they don't pull the handbrake on progress.” The adoption of the regulation on roaming is scheduled for April. It will replace the previous regulation, which expires on 30 June 2012. (IL/transl.fl)