Commission welcomes agreement to end roaming charges and to guarantee an open Internet

Huge telephone bills ruining your holiday budget, an Internet connection not delivering on its promises: these experiences will be soon old memories. The European Parliament, Council and Commission today agreed to end roaming charges in June 2017 and to establish the first EU-wide net neutrality rules. Andrus Ansip, Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, welcomed the agreement: “Europeans have been calling and waiting for the end of roaming charges as well as for net neutrality rules. They have been heard. We still have a lot of work ahead of us to create a Digital Single Market. Our plans to make it happen were fully endorsed by Heads of State and Government last week, and we should move faster than ever on this.” Günther H. Oettinger, Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, said: “I welcome today’s crucial agreement to finally end roaming charges and establish pragmatic net neutrality rules throughout the EU. Both are essential for consumers and businesses in today’s European digital economy and society. We will build on these important foundations in our forthcoming review of the EU’s telecoms legislation.” The measures will be completed by an ambitious overhaul of EU telecoms rules in 2016. This reform will include a more effective EU-level spectrum coordination. Creating the right conditions for digital networks and services to flourish is a key objective of the Commission’s plan for a Digital Single Market. For more information see the press release (also in FR and DE) and the factsheet.