European Union roaming regulations

A European Union (EU) law to abolish roaming charges for people using cellphones abroad came into force on Thursday. It follows an agreement in 2015 obliging operators to offer the same service to phone users throughout the bloc.

Mobile phones users all over the EU, which includes Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Croatia, will benefit from new "roam like at home" rules from Thursday, when new pan-European rules enter into force. The new rules were agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in January.

European lawmakers clinched a deal early on Wednesday to cap the wholesale charges mobile service operators pay each other to enable their customers to use their mobile phones in other European countries, paving the way for the abolition of roaming fees in June.

Roaming charges in the EU for making calls, sending SMS or surfing online fall on Saturday as a prelude to their abolition from the middle of next year.

At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the Bulgarian government approved amendments to the Electronic Communications Act, which would cap EU roaming charges starting from April 30.

A complete ban on roaming charges for using mobile phones abroad in the EU will take effect in June 2017 and clear rules on the right to internet access will become law following Parliament’s final approval of the new telecoms package on Tuesday.

Roaming charges for using mobile phones abroad in the EU will be completely banned in June 2017, the European Parliament decided on Tuesday.

The European Commission will monitor the behavior of mobile operators in view of the planned abolition of roaming charges within the EU as of mid-2017, according to Gunther Oettinger, Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society.

Almost two years after the European Commission put forward its proposal for a telecoms single market, an agreement was found with the European Parliament and the Council. The compromise was reached on Wednesday following final negotiations between the three institutions (so-called ‘trilogue’ meetings). It foresees:

Following 12 hours of talks, the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union reached a provisional deal with the European Parliament on net neutrality rules envisaging the abolition of mobile phone roaming fees as of June 2017.

Under the agreement reached in the early hours of June 30, 2015, roaming surcharges in the European Union will be abolished as of June 15, 2017.