Brussels, 17/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - The intention announced by the European Commission to reduce international roaming charges for consumers is a very good idea, but it should consider the whole of the market (wholesale and retail) before adopting corrective measures, in order to make sure that its intervention comes in the right area, states the ECTA (European Competitive Telecommunications Association) in a press release. "ECTA agrees with Commissioner Reding that despite many attempts at national and European levels, consumers are continuing to pay unjustified roaming charges", the telecommunications operators stress, but, they continue, "the measures which the Commission is planning for retail prices must be balanced out by effective actions on the wholesale markets which should, over time, bring greater control over end prices". ECTA stresses that the retail prices paid by consumers are not greatly different from the wholesale prices paid by mobile telephone companies to the network operators in place, who set the prices and conditions for access. Ensuring that the mobile operators are directly participating in the roaming agreements would allow them to set the pricing conditions they want to offer their clients themselves, according to ECTA. See EUROPE 9128.