Roaming charges no longer apply in the European Union
The European Commission is happy to announce that as of today, 15 June 2017, roaming charges in the European Union will no longer apply.
The abolition of roaming charges demonstrates the commitment of the European Commission, European Parliament, Maltese Presidency of the EU and Member States to removing digital barriers facing European citizens.
President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat, on behalf of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, issued the following statement:
"The European Union is about bringing people together and making their lives easier. The end of roaming charges is a true European success story.
From now on, citizens who travel within the EU will be able to call, text and connect on their mobile devices at the same price as they pay at home. Eliminating roaming charges is one of the greatest and most tangible successes of the EU.
Over the last 10 years, our institutions have been working hard together to fix this market failure. Each time a European citizen crossed an EU border, be it for holidays, work, studies or just for a day, they had to worry about using their mobile phones and a high phone bill from the roaming charges when they came home. Roaming charges will now be a thing of the past. (...)
It has been a long time coming, with many actors involved. By working closely together, the European Union has delivered a concrete, positive result for European citizens. We are proud that the EU has put an end to very high roaming prices and thankful to those who showed the determination to overcome the many challenges and pursue this goal.
At the same time, the EU has managed to find the right balance between the end of roaming charges and the need to keep domestic mobile packages competitive and attractive. Operators have had 2 years to prepare for the end of roaming charges, and we are confident that they will seize the opportunities the new rules bring to the benefit of their customers.
The end of roaming charges is at the foundation of the EU's Digital Single Market and is another step towards building a united and sustainable European digital society, accessible for all our citizens."
The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) building blocks represent another initiative of the European Commission to support European citizens, businesses and public administrations.
The European Commission has recently published the first set of success stories, each showing how the CEF building blocks help save both time and money in building cross-border digital services.
To get started reusing the CEF building blocks for your project visit the re-designed CEF Digital 2018 Portal.