Corbett hails mobile phone victory for consumers
Yorkshire & Humber MEP Richard Corbett has hailed the European Parliament's decision to slash the cost of making and receiving mobile phone calls in Europe as a major victory for consumer protection.
The proposed deal on mobile roaming charges will introduce a new “European Consumer Tariff” that automatically caps the cost of receiving a call in another EU country at around 19p per minute including VAT this year, with that price falling further over the next two years. Recent figures show it can cost up to 76p a minute to receive a peak-time call in Spain and £1.32 in Slovenia.
Richard Corbett, Deputy Leader of the Labour MEPs, was delighted with the vote, and said: “Labour MEPs have been campaigning for two years to introduce these measures. For too long mobile phone operators have been charging outrageous sums to people using their phones elsewhere in the EU.”
Consumers will also receive a message from their operator informing them of the precise costs of using their phone, in each EU country they enter.
Corbett added: “With mobile roaming capped and the transparency of operators increased, this is a genuine triumph for European consumers and one that simply wouldn't have been possible without the EU.
“It's just a shame that the Conservative MEPs sided with the industry to oppose consumer protection, making the case for higher charges to be levied.”
The price caps in the Euro Tariff will steadily reduce over three years. The prices in the deal are as follows, in euro cents exclusive of VAT, and in pound sterling inclusive of UK VAT.
Retail Prices (Outgoing Calls)
Year 1 0.49 euro cents (approx £0.39)
Year 2 0.46 euro cents (approx £0.37)
Year 3 0.43 euro cents (approx £0.34)
Retail Prices (Incoming Calls)
Year 1 0.24 eurocents (approx £0.19)
Year 2 0.22 eurocents (approx £0.18)
Year 3 0.19 eurocents (approx £0.15)
Wholesale
Year 1 0.30 eurocents (approx £0.24)
Year 2 0.28 eurocents (approx £0.22)
Year 3 0.26 eurocents (approx £0.21)
Recent cost of calls
A European Commission investigation found the following costs of four minute peak-time calls in March 2006:Calling the UK from Spain: 3.45-5.81 euros (£2.38-£4.01)
Receiving a call in Spain from the UK: 1.66-4.40 euros (£1.15-£3.04)
Calling the UK from Slovenia: 3.45-8.22 euros (£2.38-£5.68)
Receiving a call in Slovenia from the UK: 1.66-7.63 euros (£1.15-£5.27)
- Labour MEPs will now be turning their attention to the cost of using text messages and the internet on mobiles while abroad.
- The new regulations should come into force before the end of June.
- The Conservatives voted against Joseph Muscat's report recommending a cap on roaming charges in the European Parliament's Internal Market Committee.
- They also voted against amendments made by Reino Paasilinna that were in favour of a cap on roaming charges in the European Parliament's Industry Committee.
more information
Press enquiries: Contact Luke Thorne, Press and Communications Officer to Richard Corbett MEP
- phone 0113 245 8987
- e-mail luke@richardcorbett.org.uk
© 2003-2006 Richard Corbett MEP