‘Yellow light’ for roaming deal

MEPs and the German presidency of the EU yesterday (15 May) reached a tentative agreement on capping fees charged to consumers using their mobile phones abroad.

The agreement, which comes after weeks of tense negotiations, was hailed as a break-through. But it could yet be derailed by a Socialist rebellion in the European Parliament.

"This is a yellow light, not a green light," said Maltese Socialist MEP Joseph Muscat. "We are sceptical at this stage." Muscat indicated that the centre-right EPP-ED group was alone in its fully fledged support for the agreement presented by the presidency yesterday.

Socialist MEPs are concerned about the wording of a clause on the so-called opt-out, which sets a timeframe for the transition to retail caps for making and receiving calls from abroad. According to the compromise package, customers should be free to switch to the ‘Eurotariff’ within one month of the regulation’s entry into force. After a further two months, customers who have not made any choice are automatically switched to the regulated regime.

According to Muscat, the clause is not yet ‘watertight’ enough to ensure the default switchover to Eurotariff that had previously been demanded by Socialist MEPs. "We don’t want this to be extrapolated in such a way that operators argue that every scheme they offer is a pre-regulated contract," he said. MEPs are set to vote on proposals next week (21 May) at a full session of Parliament.

A German official expressed doubts that the wording of the clause would be revised ahead of a meeting of EU diplomats today (16 May). "We are going to explain today’s compromise to member states tomorrow," he said.

Spain, which had previously mounted a campaign along with France and the UK in favour of higher retail and wholesale caps than those agreed by Parliament’s industry, research and energy committee in April, indicated a softening of its position. "We feel an agreement could be possible," a diplomat said.

The UK was more cautious. "We don’t have a done deal yet, but discussions are clearly moving quickly," said UK Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Hodge.

A UK diplomat said that today’s talks would be the first in a series in the run-up to a meeting of telecoms ministers next month (7-8 June).

The compromise sets out caps of €0.49 per minute for calls made abroad and €0.24 per minute for calls received abroad in the first year. Caps would fall to €0.46 for making calls and €0.22 for receiving calls in the second year. A final drop of €0.43 for making calls and €0.19 for receiving calls is envisaged in the third year. Wholesale tariffs would be capped at €0.30 in the first year, €0.28 in the second and €0.26 in the third.

MEPs and the German presidency of the EU yesterday (15 May) reached a tentative agreement on capping fees charged to consumers using their mobile phones abroad.