On 3 April at a plenary session held in Brussels, the MEPs voted on the so-called “telecoms package” proposal. The European Commission´s proposal aims at creating single telecommunication market in the EU using a set of measures. The MEPs have, after lengthy debates, considerably amended the Commission´s proposal and adopted the text in first reading. There are two main elements of the package. Firstly, roaming charges inside the EU are to be abolished since 15 December 2015. Retail users will since then be able to use the telecoms services in the whole EU charged as if they were in their provider´s home state. There will nevertheless be “fair use clauses” defined by BEREC (the body bringing together EU national regulators) as a safeguard against abuse – the users should be able to replicate their behavior with respect to voice-calls, SMS and MMS messages and data during their short-term stays in other EU country, however, it will not be allowed to use the telecoms services solely in roaming.
8th August 2024
19th September 2024