Az ülések szó szerinti jegyzőkönyve

2016. október 4., Kedd - Strasbourg

16. A távközlés jövője, a tisztességes használat és az EU-n belüli hívások (vita)

  Der Präsident. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärung der Kommission zum Thema „Künftige Entwicklungen bei den Telekommunikationsdiensten, angemessene Nutzung und Anrufe innerhalb der EU“ (2016/2915(RSP)).

  Andrus Ansip, Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, access to high quality and affordable connectivity for all citizens and businesses seamlessly across the European Union is essential for realising the full benefits of the digital single market. Therefore, before addressing the important issue of roaming, let me stress the importance of the Comprehensive Connectivity Package the Commission adopted in September. We want ambitious connectivity targets and modern rules to support these goals. I am confident that you in the European Parliament share the need for a swift but comprehensive handling of this ambitious package.

Turning now to roaming: in 2015, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a regulation establishing that from 15 June 2017, retail roaming surcharges should be abolished. This regulation only addressed roaming surcharges. It did not aim at price harmonisation or at lowering the price of international calls, which I will address in the second part.

Abolishment of retail roaming surcharges is essential for citizens and businesses across the European Union, and the Commission is fully committed to deliver. Now we need to complete the steps necessary to ensure it.

When agreeing the end of roaming surcharges in November 2015, the European Parliament and the Council asked the Commission to put in place necessary accompanying measures, the reform of the roaming wholesale market, including the setting of price caps, to set up fair use of our ‘roam like at home’ to prevent abusive or anomalous usage of the system, and an exceptional derogation system in cases where replication of ‘roam like at home’ would otherwise provoke price increases for domestic customers. None of this is an easy task, given the diversity of existing business models in the European Union and fragmentation of the markets, but I am convinced that together we can find solutions and deliver on what we commonly agreed.

Let me also briefly turn to the issue of intra-EU calls which has also been raised in this House. I agree with you that, in a single market, barriers should fall and the price of calls should not depend on the country code. To tackle the fragmentation inside the European Union, the Commission proposed the new electronic communications code. It provides clear rules for the whole of the whole EU for an inclusive single market where competitive investments in networks will ensure high quality connectivity and where consumers enjoy a high level of protection and have access to affordable services. But besides this, the proposal also includes measures that will help to increase competitive pressure and reduce the scope for price discrimination. In particular, we propose the unification of call termination rates also for international calls arriving from other Member States. This will lead to a reduction of the cost for outgoing international calls.

Furthermore, the markets are adjusting to new realities. The growing use of internet-based communications applications has already reinforced the competition for international calls, and it is still early days for such market developments. The codes supported by the market developments will ensure that every European has effective access to wireless broadband, which will facilitate the use of alternative means of communications to make online competition work for consumers, also as regards intra-EU calls.

  Viviane Reding, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, the EU keeps its promises: after years of tireless fighting, roaming fees will soon belong to the past. I still remember in 2004 that, as Commissioner for the Information Society and Media, I made the alarming observation that to make a phone call or send an SMS from abroad was four times more expensive than a domestic call or SMS. So here we are, 13 years later, and roaming surcharges will finally be abolished. To deliver by the deadline of 15 June 2017, the EU needs to agree on implementing the text without creating any loopholes that could reintroduce roaming fees through the back door.

The Commission should stick to its fair use proposal, which includes neither time nor volume limits to roam – like at home – and the Council should consent to an ambitiously low wholesale price. But that is not all: the European Parliament is readying itself for the next battle – the one against abusive mobile prices charged for intra—EU calls from your home country to another EU country. Why? Because those fall outside the scope of roaming regulations and hence remain priced at prohibitive levels – often EUR 1 per minute for calls and 15 cents for SMS.

This situation makes absolutely no sense, and that is why more than 150 MEPs from across all political spectrums asked the Commission to address the issue in the telecom package. Well, the Commission did not, so the Parliament has to. Rest assured that Parliament will tackle that problem while working on the telecom package in the next weeks and months.

  Patrizia Toia, a nome del gruppo S&D. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, signor Commissario, il principio del roaming "roam like at home" è stato una battaglia che questo Parlamento ha fatto da tempo. Io rivendico anche che l'abbia fatta, in prima persona e con molta forza e coerenza, il mio gruppo politico, il Gruppo dei socialisti e democratici, nel corso di tutti questi anni fino al negoziato finale per quanto ha riguardato il pacchetto che lo scorso anno abbiamo approvato.

Noi apprezziamo che ci sia, con questa proposta, una coerenza rispetto a quel voto del Parlamento, a quella posizione comune di Parlamento e Consiglio. Perché vede, signor Commissario, sono convinta io, come è convinto lei, che davanti ai nostri cittadini c'è credibilità dell'Europa se abbiamo coerenza in tutti i nostri passaggi.

Questa è una battaglia che certamente non può prescindere, e siamo d'accordo, da una corretta applicazione delle regole e dal rispetto dell'attività degli operatori. Per questo siamo d'accordo con la Fair Use Clause che si deve realizzare anche attraverso un abbassamento dei prezzi all'ingrosso, visto che stiamo trattando questa partita. Siamo convinti che questo debba avvenire con un sistema che possa essere il più semplice e il più user friendly possibile. Apprezziamo che la proposta non imponga né limiti di volume né limiti di tempo, perché sarebbe stata incoerente con il nostro voto parlamentare, e che si basi sull'approccio di un legame stabile con il paese.

Le chiediamo, però, apprezzando la proposta che è stata avanzata, che si tenga conto sempre che i consumatori vanno tutelati sia dal punto di vista della protezione dei dati che nei casi di disaccordo con le compagnie telefoniche, perché le procedure messe in campo dagli operatori devono essere trasparenti, semplici, efficienti e non invasive, non oltre il necessario.

Quindi è necessario che il principio guida di un mercato unico debba guidarci anche ad assicurare una politica del fair use sempre più armonizzata, che non sia differente da paese a paese e che non preveda una lista di indicatori diversi in ogni Stato europeo, perché questo ci farebbe ancora una volta arretrare sulla strada di un vero mercato unico. Penso che se proseguiremo su questa strada, questa parola magica roam like at home potrà servire per l'intera Europa, che deve essere sentita dai cittadini come home.

  Evžen Tošenovský, za skupinu ECR. – Pane předsedající, Evropská unie potřebuje jednotný digitální trh a špičkové elektronické komunikace na 5G sítích. V tomto smyslu obecně vítám, že Komise podporuje konektivitu napříč Evropskou unií. A vítám i ambici, která je do balíčku vložena, i když naše politická skupina tradičně není velkým příznivcem celounijních cílů.

Telekomunikační průmysl potřebuje pro velké investice do sítí regulační jistotu. Proto doufám, že tento návrh je future-proof a předvídá vývoj v technologiích a v chování koncových uživatelů tak, abychom nemuseli regulační rámec opět brzy měnit. Jako pozitivní vnímám zpřehlednění, a zejména spojení stávajících směrnic, a také jasnější pravidla pro ochranu spotřebitele. Jako problematičtější se rýsuje správa spektra, které je v kompetenci členských států.

Závěrem k roamingu: věřím, že se podaří s experty a úřadem BEREC nastavit politiku přiměřeného využívání tak, aby od začátku platila jasná a jednotná pravidla pro operátory a regulátory a byl konec roamingu šťastným koncem pro všechny.

  Jens Rohde, for ALDE-Gruppen. – Hr. formand! Det er egentlig lidt ironisk, at vi i dag skal diskutere fair brug og regler for misbrug, når det gælder borgernes brug af telefoni og data over for teleselskaberne. Det viser, at den liberale gruppes forslag fra sommeren 2013, som dengang vakte megen vrede og megen furore, men som alligevel fik et flertal ved beslutningen lige før sommerferien, er en kæmpe succes. Dengang var det nemlig et spørgsmål om at sikre den enkelte forbruger en fair brug. Afgiften på roaming for telefoni og tekstbeskeder var knap 300 % over kostprisen og 698 % i gennemsnit over kostprisen på netadgang, når man opholdt sig uden for sit eget land. Derfor er det en kæmpe sejr for Parlamentet, at vi nu har fået vendt problemstillingen om og diskuterer den omvendte problematik i stedet for, nemlig hvordan vi forhindrer, at borgerne misbruger et system, hvor vi har afgiftsfri roaming, men stadig endnu ikke har et reelt indre marked for fælles frekvenser.

Først og fremmest, hr. kommissær, kræver det en meget, meget klar definition af, hvad misbrug egentlig er. I mit verdensbillede kan der aldrig nogensinde blive tale om misbrug for den rejsendes vedkommende eller for den, der er udstationeret for sin virksomhed i en kortere eller en mellemlang periode. Det vil jeg gerne slå fast. Misbrug kan alene være, såfremt man snyder med sin bopæl, eller man forsøger at lave en forretning ud af at købe simkort i et andet land og sælge dem i et tredjeland. Derfor vil jeg også gerne kvittere Kommissionen for, at den trak sit forslag om 90 dage tilbage og i stedet gik ind på præmissen om, at misbrug ud fra en bopælspræmis eller ulovligt køb og salg er det, man tager udgangspunkt i.

Jeg synes stadigvæk, at der er en lang række uklarheder i det, Kommissionen er kommet med, men jeg tror, at vi kan finde en fælles løsning, og jeg forventer, at alle lever op til deres valgløfter og tager deres ansvar for at finde løsninger, at alle lever op til de valgløfter, der kom i valgkampen 2014, inklusive Kommissionen og også medlemslandene.

  João Ferreira, em nome do Grupo GUE/NGL. – Senhor Presidente, a natureza assimétrica da União Europeia revela-se nas pequenas como nas grandes coisas. Acabar com o roaming nas comunicações móveis é um objetivo há muito anunciado. Aparentemente consensual, até já serviu fins de propaganda eleitoral. Mas por detrás da bondade da proposta eis o reverso da medalha: a chamada de roaming tem mais custos do que os associados a chamadas nacionais. Quem pagará estes custos?

Acresce que as zonas recetoras líquidas de turismo terão aumentos de pressão sazonais sobre as respetivas redes, o que pode exigir investimentos no seu reforço. Quem os paga? As operadoras destes países já avisaram: se não for possível refletir estes e outros custos nas tarifas de roaming eles serão refletidos nas tarifas nacionais. Ou seja, para sermos claros: prefigura-se que sejam os consumidores dos países do Sul a arcar com os custos do fim do roaming. Eis o mercado único das telecomunicações.

Neste como noutros setores, a liberalização e a mirífica livre concorrência serve objetivos de concentração monopolista à escala europeia, não serve nem os consumidores, nem as famílias, nem as empresas nem o interesse nacional.

  Der Präsident. – Hier ist zwar eine blue card. Wir sind aber so weit hinter der Zeit zurück, dass ich die nicht zulassen kann. Ich bitte um Verständnis.

  Michel Reimon, im Namen der Verts/ALE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, Herr Kommissar! Ich würde mir wünschen, dass wir hier nicht roam like at home besprechen, sondern phone like at home, dass es nicht nur um Roaming geht, sondern überhaupt um Telefon in allen Bereichen. Da hängen wir weit hinten nach.

Wir haben lange gewartet auf einen Tagesordnungspunkt vor uns, wo es um Interrail ging und darum, dass die jungen Leute gratis mit dem Zug durch Europa fahren können und dann ein Gefühl für Europa empfinden. Ich glaube, mit nichts könnten wir mehr das Gefühl herstellen, dass Europa eine Heimat und ein Lebensraum ist, als damit, dass man sich nicht im Ausland empfindet, wenn man einige Kilometer über die Grenze fährt, sein Handy verwendet und etwas im Internet surft. Das sollte doch aus europäischer Sicht der Weg sein, wo wir hin wollen, dass das alles ein Kommunikationsraum ist. Und gerade für die Jungen ist das wichtig. Auf diesem Weg sind wir nicht.

Wir haben bei der ersten Reform des Telekombinnenmarktes die Netzneutralität aufgegeben, um Profite der Telekomindustrie im Roamingbereich abzufedern, wurde gesagt. Dafür wurde dann das Roaming aber nicht abgeschafft. Jetzt haben wir eine Fair-use-Klausel, bei der letztlich immer noch übrig bleiben kann, dass es Roaming geben wird. Wie der Markt hier entscheidet, werden wir sehen. Ich bin nicht zuversichtlich, dass es wirklich wahnsinnig viel besser wird. Und das wurde beschlossen, und dann haben wir nicht geklärt: Wie ist die Telefonie in andere EU-Mitgliedstaaten? Wie sind die Großhandelspreise? Das ist alles noch offen, das hat durch sich so kein vernünftiges Bild. Ich hoffe, wir kommen bis zum Ende der Periode zu einem gemeinsamen guten Abschluss. Sehr zuversichtlich bin ich derzeit nicht.

  Margot Parker, on behalf of the EFDD Group. – Mr President, EU legislation to scrap data roaming charges was widely publicised by the Remain campaign as one of the great reasons to stay in the EU. But, as many of us have learned, EU interference on markets simply pushes up prices for businesses and consumers alike, and this case is no exception. One UK network operator has announced that the priced call internationally will rise by 60% a minute, whilst another has announced that domestic call prices will be increased by 25% a minute.

EU interference in this area was at least meant to open up market competition by allowing consumers the choice from across the continent, but compromises to the text now mean that roaming abroad will still have its limits, leaving most citizens tied to purchasing from a domestic network provider. More regulation, less competition and higher prices exemplify all the reasons why Britain will be better off outside the single market.

  Krišjānis Kariņš (PPE). – Priekšsēdētāja kungs! Komisāra kungs! Kolēģi! Viens vārds — robežas. Robežas. Vai mēs atceramies, kādas pavisam nesen Eiropā bija robežas? Mēs tās dažādi piedzīvojām. Viena daļa eiropiešu varēja varbūt ceļot uz citām valstīm, bet brīvi ceļot bez vīzām — brīvi studēt, brīvi strādāt — tas nebija iedomājams. Tiem, kas dzīvoja Baltijas valstīs, aiz “dzelzs aizkara”, vēl Padomju Savienībā, vispār ceļot ārpus šīs Savienības bez īpašām atļaujām pat nebija iedomājams. Ja vēl kāds saņēma šīs īpašās atļaujas, tad bieži vēl nāca kaut kāds pienākums ziņot čekai par to, kas ir redzēts un dzirdēts.

Šodien mēs dzīvojam vienā Eiropas Savienībā, kur mums robežas tik tiešām ir atvērtas tā, ka mēs bieži pat aizmirstam, ka pavisam nesen tā nebija. Mums ir brīva preču, pakalpojumu, cilvēku, kapitāla kustība, ko mēs vienkārši pieņemam, ka tā jābūt, bet joprojām, kad mēs ceļojam ar mūsu mobilajiem telefoniem, pēkšņi vecās robežas parādās — paaugstināti tarifi. Dievs pasargi, es gribēšu mammai piezvanīt, cik tas man maksās! Nu mēs daļēji esam to atrisinājuši ar mūsu regulējumu, kas atcels viesabonēšanas maksas no nākamā gada jūnija. Mums vēl jāvienojas par vairumtirdzniecības tarifu ierobežošanu, bet to mēs izdarīsim. Bet otra daļa mums vēl ir jāizrunā. Kāpēc no vienas dalībvalsts, teiksim, no mājām zvanīt uz ārzemēm ir lētāk vai dārgāk nekā no citas dalībvalsts. Mums ir šie starpvalstu tarifi. Vēl ir jāskatās, kā arī tur ieviest vai, varētu teikt pareizāk, likvidēt nevajadzīgās cenas, atvērt konkurenci.

  Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D). – Mr President, let us act in time to get rid of roaming next summer. In the internal market it should be possible to buy goods and services freely. Buying a SIM card is different. A SIM card always uses the local network for phone calls, text messages and data. That is why we need different tools. Network operators will still charge one another when we travel. This continues even if that price is not charged to the traveller. That is why we are making legislation for operators on wholesale price caps. As rapporteur, I give my word that this Parliament will be ready by the end of November.

There is a strong link between the fair use policy and wholesale caps. Today there are huge differences in SIM card prices between the Member States: for phone calls some seven times and for data 35 times or even a hundred times if I look at my home country, Finland, and compare, as there operators do not limit data volumes at all on the monthly bill. Fair use policy is needed to avoid abusive use, and so as not to put an additional burden on consumers. It is clear that we cannot all order the cheapest SIM cards in Europe and make that operator pay the local operator whose network we will actually use.

Mobile usage also varies a lot, with the average use of data ranging from some 0.30 gigabytes to some 10 gigabytes a month. The good news is that investing in capacity will dramatically bring down the unit cost, and data is the most important – if not everywhere, let me tell you that it will be soon. Cheap and fast data is our aim because we are aiming for the gigabyte society. We need low enough wholesale caps so that all operators can provide roaming free services and the telecom sector remains competitive, as stated in the digital single market strategy. Then there is less need and less fear of restriction on the roaming free services and fair use policy will not be used to limit the right of Europeans to have ‘roam like at home’. I think the fair use policy needs to be clarified to a certain extent. Fair rules for consumers and information are needed.

  Jens Rohde (ALDE). – Hr. formand! Jeg vil bare udtrykke min store undren over for den måde, man i Parlamentet tager denne diskussion på. Der er ikke plads til spørgsmål, der er ingenting, der er plads til, fordi vi er under tidspres. Jamen det er jo ikke os, der sidder her og arbejder med dette område, der har det problem. Vi taler om noget af det højest profilerede område overhovedet fra valgkampen 2014. Alle partier, inklusive formandens eget parti, gik til valg på dette, og Kommissionen er for tre uger siden kommet med et forslag om 90 dages begrænsning. Det har Kommissionen nu ændret til noget, hvor man sige, at principperne måske kan være rigtige, men at der er mange uafklarede spørgsmål, og vi har ikke en kinamands chance her for at diskutere det, som virkelig betyder noget for den enkelte borger i Europa, fordi vi skal skynde os videre. Det, synes jeg simpelthen, er under al kritik, under al kritik! Det er ikke acceptabelt, hr. formand! Vi burde have plads og tid til at diskutere noget, som har været ...

(formanden fratog taleren ordet)

  Der Präsident. – Lieber Kollege Jens Rohde! Mir persönlich wäre es auch lieber, wenn wir das anders machen könnten. Es ist heute im Laufe des Tages eine vollständige Debatte neu in die Tagesordnung aufgenommen worden. Zurzeit ist die Prognose, dass die letzte Debatte des heutigen Abends irgendwann zwischen 23.30 Uhr und 23.45 Uhr endet. Wir müssen daher die Debatte kompakter führen, und deswegen kann ich leider keine blauen Karten zulassen.

Das Thema ist wichtig, es ist ein politisches Thema. Es ist auch wichtig, dass es hier im Haus debattiert wird. Aber heute Abend geht es nur in den engen Maßgaben des Zeitkorsetts, das durch die zusätzliche Debatte über Griechenland entstanden ist. Ich bitte dafür um Verständnis und hoffe, dass es beim nächsten Mal dann besser und etwas lebhafter ablaufen kann.

  Kaja Kallas (ALDE). – Mr President, in this debate, I want to stress one important thing. Before, consumers travelled abroad and had a fear of big bills when they used their phone. Now, this fear will be eliminated if the roaming charges are abolished and there is no limitation of days. More consumption definitely means more revenues, so nobody can deny that everybody will benefit from this. This is why the fair use clause needs to be really fair for all parties involved.

However, I want to stress that we have to keep in mind what our end goal is. Our end goal is not to introduce different checks on where people live and IP addresses and requests for documents; our end goal is to have a single market for telecom services. We have to keep this in mind.

  Cornelia Ernst (GUE/NGL). – Herr Präsident! Internet und Telekommunikation sind ein Grundbedürfnis aller Bürgerinnen und Bürger, und Roaminggebühren stehen dem entgegen und behindern die Freizügigkeit der Bürger. Faire use ja, aber bitte schön für alle Beteiligten. Und wenn Roaming künftig nur kostenlos sein soll, wenn keine „anormale“ oder „missbräuchliche“ Nutzung vorliegt, verstehe ich das zwar in Bezug auf „missbräuchlich“, bei groß angelegten Auf- und Weiterverkäufen von SIM—Karten z. B., aber was ist denn „anormal“? Und wieso soll Roaming nur für „periodische Reisen“ kostenfrei sein? Was sind periodische Reisen eigentlich?

Findet nun ein Provider einen Missbrauch, kann er bei der Regulierungsbehörde Roaming-Gebühren beantragen. Dazu muss er aber eine Untersuchung durchführen, und das ist Profiling, nämlich mit den Metadaten des vermuteten Missbrauchenden, über die die Grenzübertritte und Kommunikationsgewohnheiten sichtbar werden. Genau das hatten wir aber nicht mit der Datenschutzgrundverordnung gemeint. Fair use ist wirklich anders, und was ich möchte, ist dass die Roaminggebühren endlich abgeschafft werden und Sie das Versprechen der EU an die Bürger auch erfüllen.

  Jerzy Buzek (PPE). – Panie Przewodniczący! Rynek cyfrowy i telekomunikacyjny to dziś klucz do tworzenia nowych miejsc pracy, do innowacji. To jest ważne dla obywateli, tak jak roaming, za którego opłaty powinny zniknąć w czerwcu przyszłego roku. Teraz trzeba się przyjrzeć stawkom krajowym, bo one są za wysokie, a internet, nawet szybki, nie jest w stanie zastąpić szybszych, niezawodnych łączy. A więc potrzeba nam inwestycji w sieci o najwyższej przepustowości. Każde miasto, każdy region, każda wieś w Unii musi być połączona. I teraz najważniejsza sprawa: wykorzystanie pasm radiowych. Nadal mamy 28 krajowych przepisów, cen, harmonogramów. Jak konkurować w zakresie technologii 4G i 5G bez takiego ujednolicenia?

Dyskusja o rewolucji cyfrowej dotyczy wszystkich gałęzi przemysłu. Dlatego chciałbym zachęcić przedstawicieli przemysłu obecnych na sali lub słuchających nas w internecie, aby podjęli zdecydowaną dyskusję na temat udostępnienia pasm radiowych na nasze potrzeby internetowe. To może bardziej skłonić państwa członkowskie do wyjścia naprzeciw oczekiwaniom Komisji, Parlamentu Europejskiego, oczekiwaniom wszystkich obywateli.

  Dan Nica (S&D). – Domnule președinte, domnule comisar, salut prezența Comisiei și disponibilitatea de a găsi o soluție la chestiunea privind fair-use-ul. Apreciem cu toții înlocuirea propunerii anterioare, cea de 90 de zile. Conform tratatelor, cetățenilor europeni le este garantată libera circulație în Uniunea Europeană. La fel trebuie să garantăm și cetățenilor noștri dreptul de a vorbi la aceleași tarife, ca acasă, atunci când călătoresc pe teritoriul Uniunii Europene, iar cei ce vor să folosească fraudulos această libertate trebuie să fie împiedicați. Comisia, alături de operatori și autoritățile naționale de reglementare, trebuie să lucreze împreună pentru a asigura o politică de fair use armonizată în cadrul Uniunii Europene.

Având în vedere că taxele de roaming vor fi eliminate în 2017 următorul pas necesar este de a adresa chestiunea prețurilor nejustificate în serviciile de telecomunicații intra-UE. Apelurile telefonice transfrontaliere, SMS-urile, acestea sunt de prea multe ori scumpe pentru majoritatea consumatorilor și reprezintă un obstacol în realizarea pieței unice de telecom și digitale. Revizuirea cadrului de reglementare a comunicațiilor electronice este o bună oportunitate să abordăm și această problemă. De asemenea, reamintesc că obiectivele Agendei digitale 2020 sunt de 30 Mbps pentru toți cetățenii Uniunii Europene și că cel puțin 50% din gospodăriile europene trebuie să aibă conexiuni la internet de peste 100 Mbps până în 2020. Ce putem face pentru ca toți cetățenii noștri să fie conectați, oriunde ar locui, astfel încât să avem o adevărată societate digitală ? Comisia Europeană propune crearea unei societăți gigabit până în 2025, ceea ce este foarte bine, dar este nevoie și ca Uniunea Europeană să susțină și financiar investițiile în rețele de mare capacitate, dincolo de noul cadru de reglementare. Codul european de comunicații electronice, precum și planul de acțiune 5G înaintat de Comisie, reprezintă răspunsuri foarte bune. Pentru a avea o piață digitală cu adevărat integrată și pentru a înregistra progrese sunt necesare investiții în infrastructură.

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, October 27, 2015 was a very important day for the EU. That was the day that this Parliament voted to end mobile charges and remove one of the biggest obstacles to the completion of the single market.

I think it helped to showcase the benefits of EU membership, it ended major bills when people came home and encourages, therefore, people to travel. It boosts tourism and makes it easier for businesses to work in the single market. I sympathise with the people of the UK who, as a result of fear mongering and post-truth-era populist campaigning, may not get to reap the benefit of this.

However, I am pleased also with the clarification on fair use. The idea that roaming should be limited to 90 days, or 30 days consecutively, was not acceptable and I am pleased that this now is being changed. We cannot have a watered-down roaming free Europe.

I also want to commend my colleague here alongside me, Viviane Reding, who has kick—started our next big challenge: ending intra-EU phone charges. It makes no sense in the current situation to have free roaming and yet to keep intra-EU phone charges, which is not acceptable. We have to work hard to get rid of this rip-off as well, and only when we have that completed, the end of roaming and the end of intra-phone charges within the EU, can we say that we are moving correctly to complete the digital single market.

  Marlene Mizzi (S&D). – Mr President, Commissioner, the previous proposal of the Commission to restrict roaming to only 90 days a year was absolutely unacceptable. We promised citizens a total ban on roaming, not 90 days of credit. There should be no limit in terms of timing or volume. Therefore, I welcome the Commission’s new approach to fair use of free roaming, which does not impose any maximum restrictions. However, I still have some serious concerns, especially when it comes to consumer protection.

First, rules should not be based on the assumption that the ‘roam like home’ principle will be abused by operators and bona fide consumers. It is normal that once the roaming charges are removed, people will use this service more. Consumers should not be penalised simply because they use a service that was previously too expensive or because no travel occurred in the last 12 months, as the Commission seems to imply.

Second, the Commission needs to clarify how, when and what will trigger the fair clause. How will consumers be protected from abusive contractual clauses and subjective assessments added to the non-exhaustive lists of criteria that the telecom companies will use to identify abusive behaviour?

Third, the unfair definitions on matters such as periodical travelling, abusive use or anomalous use could lead to different practices among Member States. How will the Commission ensure the application of a more harmonised fair use policy which does not confuse consumers across borders and, more importantly, does not disappoint them?

Fourth, the stable link requirements must be simple and sensible without imposing unnecessary administrative burdens on the consumer. Last, but not least, we also need strong data protection and consumer privacy safeguards and proper complaint mechanisms. Consumers must be given enough time and access to easy, efficient and transparent complaint procedures before they are penalised. Consumers expect what was promised to them. Let’s not let them down.

  Francesc Gambús (PPE). – Señor Presidente, señor Comisario, la Unión Europea se construyó sobre cuatro libertades: la libertad de circulación de trabajadores, la libertad de circulación de mercancías, la libertad de circulación de los servicios y la libertad de circulación de capitales. Sin embargo, hoy seguimos sin librarnos de los aranceles que las compañías telefónicas siguen imponiendo en el mercado interior.

El pasado lunes 26 de septiembre, la Comisión vino a la Comisión de Industria, Investigación y Energía para exponer su propuesta para acabar con el roaming a partir del 15 de junio del año que viene, cosa que significará un gran avance en la creación del mercado único europeo.

A la batalla contra el roaming va a seguir la batalla para acabar con las elevadas y diferentes tarifas para llamar a otro país de la Unión desde nuestro país. Es evidente que nos hace falta construir un verdadero mercado común digital y de las telecomunicaciones.

El roaming solo es una estación intermedia y, por ello, la Comisión no debería relajarse más que un momento para disfrutar de este avance, para coger fuerzas renovadas y seguir luchando en la construcción de este mercado común, un mercado que ya debería contar con un verdadero organismo regulador a nivel de la Unión.

No entendemos cómo es posible que, dado que, en la propuesta de la Comisión del 11 de septiembre de 2013 sobre —precisamente— el mercado único de las telecomunicaciones, ya aparecía una posible solución para limitar los sobrecargos en las comunicaciones principales hacia otros países de la Unión, aún no haya una propuesta legislativa sobre la mesa sobre la que podamos trabajar.

  Anne Sander (PPE). – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Commissaire, heureux qui comme Ulysse a fait un beau voyage, car, à partir de 2017, il ne paiera plus de frais de roaming, mais malheureux celui qui reste, il continuera de payer pour ses appels à l'étranger.

Nous avons promis, en effet, la fin des frais d'itinérance pour juin 2017. Nous sommes en passe d'y arriver avec la finalisation des négociations en cours sur l'usage raisonnable et la révision des tarifs de gros. Cependant, nous devons faire très attention dans notre communication car sinon, au 15 juin 2017, les citoyens européens penseront qu'ils peuvent appeler partout en Europe au prix d'un appel national. Or, ce ne sera pas le cas: le travailleur frontalier alsacien qui voudra appeler ses collègues allemands paiera toujours un supplément.

Après avoir aboli le roaming, nous devons travailler à baisser le prix, parfois exorbitant, des appels à l'étranger. Néanmoins, il faut faire attention à deux écueils: premièrement, certains opérateurs proposent déjà des appels non surtaxés en Europe – le marché est donc concurrentiel dans quelques États membres – et, deuxièmement, les infrastructures de télécommunication sont nationales – quand vous appelez à l'étranger, vous appelez sur un autre réseau, donc qui doit payer cela?

Je suis sûre que nous pourrons régler ces problèmes dans le prochain code des télécommunications.

  Carlos Zorrinho (S&D). – Senhor Comissário, a nova legislação sobre a abolição dos custos associados às chamadas entre países da União Europeia, que entra vigor em junho de 2017, tem que assegurar o melhor serviço para as pessoas, uma maior transparência, transparência para o mercado, tem que impedir que os custos que deixarão de ser pagos pelos cidadãos europeus em viagem pela União Europeia possam ser indiretamente imputados aos que não o fazem e tem que assegurar o efetivo fim do roaming num quadro de garantia dos direitos de privacidade dos cidadãos.

A proposta da Comissão Europeia é baseada nos princípios da portabilidade e da razoabilidade. Para ser eficaz é fundamental: que os mecanismos de verificação da razoabilidade sejam simples, transparentes e não permitam, em caso algum, ações discriminatórias e anti competitivas por parte das operadoras; que seja garantida a proteção dos dados e a privacidade dos utilizadores e que esta medida seja acompanhada de um plano de incentivo ao investimento, nas redes e nas infraestruturas, que harmonize as condições prevalecentes nos vários territórios e as adeque às pressões da procura, em particular da procura que é sazonal e deriva dos fluxos turísticos.

É nestas medidas que temos que continuar a trabalhar até à concretização, quanto antes, do roaming, Senhor Comissário.

  Róża Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein (PPE). – Panie Przewodniczący! Viviane Reding przypomniała nam, że od 13 lat zajmujemy się już tym tematem. Zajmujemy się właściwie tematem znoszenia granic. Zresztą ona rozpoczęła walkę przeciwko dodatkowym opłatom, kiedy granice przekraczamy, a pamiętajmy, że tych granic nie ma. Minęło 13 lat, ale opłaty za przesył danych spadły przeszło dwudziestokrotnie, opłaty za telefony w roamingu, kiedy jesteśmy za granicą, spadły kilkukrotnie. Dlaczego? Dlatego, że wspólnie z Komisją Europejską pracowaliśmy nad tym i uregulowaliśmy ceny. Firmy mimo wszystko nie splajtowały, mimo tych hiobowych zapowiedzi, które tutaj wielokrotnie słyszeliśmy. Ja również wolałabym, żebyśmy nie musieli regulować, ażeby to konkurencja wymuszała obniżkę cen, ale tej konkurencji nie ma i konsument przy wyborze oferty we własnym kraju kieruje się głównie cenami rozmów krajowych. W związku z tym rozmowy zagraniczne są horrendalnie drogie. Zgadzam się ze wszystkimi, którzy mówili: Roam like at home ma onaczać Europe is our home. Nie powinniśmy w związku z tym ponosić opłat za kontakty transgraniczne, skoro tych granic nie ma.

Na zakończenie jedno zdanie: Bardzo żałuję, że propozycja uregulowania cen telefonów transgranicznych wewnątrz Unii Europejskiej nie znalazła się w ostatnim pakiecie i my – Parlament Europejski – dodamy ją do propozycji Komisji Europejskiej.

Catch-the-eye-Verfahren

  Λευτέρης Χριστοφόρου (PPE). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, όσο κι αν επιχειρήσει κάποιος να βρει πρόβλημα ή ψεγάδι σε αυτή την πολύ σημαντική πρόταση και σε αυτό το σημαντικό έργο που επιτελεί η Επιτροπή και η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, δεν θα το κατορθώσει, γιατί πράγματι αυτό το μέτρο είναι ένα καθαρά κοινωνικό μέτρο, είναι ένα μέτρο που πράγματι καταργεί τα σύνορα, είναι μέτρο υπέρ των καταναλωτών, είναι μέτρο που ενισχύει το κοινωνικό πρόσωπο και την κοινωνική ευαισθησία της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης.

Θεωρώ ότι είναι το πρώτο βήμα στο πεδίο των τηλεπικοινωνιών, διότι υπάρχει και ένα δεύτερο βήμα πολύ σημαντικό που είναι η μείωση των τελών για το Διαδίκτυο και όχι μόνον. Όταν ο ιδρυτής του Facebook ανακοινώνει ότι θα καλύψει, ο ίδιος προσωπικά, περιοχές που δεν έχουν πρόσβαση στο Διαδίκτυο, τότε νομίζω ότι είναι αδύνατο να μην μπορεί να πράξει κάτι τέτοιο και η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση. Δεν πιστεύω, κύριε Επίτροπε, ότι δεν μπορεί η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση να εφαρμόσει πιλοτικά το πρόγραμμα για ελεύθερη και δωρεάν πρόσβαση στο Διαδίκτυο σε απομονωμένες νησιωτικές περιοχές όπως είναι η Κύπρος, η Μάλτα, οι Κανάριοι Νήσοι, δίνοντας, με αυτόν τον τρόπο, το μήνυμα ότι είναι πρωτοπόρος, όχι μόνο για τέλη, αλλά και για ολόκληρο το Διαδίκτυο, γεγονός πολύ σημαντικό.

  Olga Sehnalová (S&D). – Pane předsedající, debaty o zrušení roamingu trvaly řadu let. Spotřebitelé se definitivního zrušení roamingových poplatků dočkají až v příštím roce. Očekávají přitom, že budou mít možnost telefonovat, posílat zprávy a používat internet v rámci celého pobytu v zahraničí, ať už z pracovních či studijních důvodů, a to bez dodatečných nákladů či omezení. Faktické zrušení roamingu proto nemůže vést ke stanovování plošných dodatečných příplatků nebo zatěžujících požadavků pro spotřebitele jen pro to, že by systém mohl být hypoteticky zneužit. Sdílím také obavy spotřebitelských organizací mimo jiné, aby přijatá opatření nevedla k systematickému kontrolování uživatelů telefonů ze strany poskytovatelů služeb. O dalších výtkách podrobně hovořila například kolegyně Marlene Mizziová. Spotřebitelé nesmí ve vztahu s operátory tahat za kratší konec. Věřím proto, že Komise tyto připomínky v návrhu náležitě zohlední.

  Νότης Μαριάς (ECR). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, ζούμε στην εποχή της πληροφορίας και των επικοινωνιών, σε μια φάση που οι ανθρώπινες ανάγκες εξυπηρετούνται σε μεγάλο βαθμό ηλεκτρονικά. Η πληροφορική και οι τηλεπικοινωνίες δίνουν νέες ευκαιρίες στις οικονομίες του κόσμου, αλλά και στις επιχειρήσεις, να αναπτυχθούν και να καταστούν πιο λειτουργικές. Είναι ένας τομέας αναπτυσσόμενος, καινοτόμος, του οποίο την κομβική σημασία δεν μπορεί κανείς να αμφισβητήσει.

Για να λειτουργήσουν αποτελεσματικά οι υπηρεσίες αυτές σε μια ήπειρο με τόσα σύνορα, όσο η Ευρώπη, απαιτείται, πρώτον, ουδετερότητα του δικτύου που διασφαλίζει την ισότιμη ελεύθερη πρόσβαση για τους καταναλωτές και τις επιχειρήσεις και δεύτερον, κατάργηση των τελών περιαγωγής, του «roaming», που θα συμβάλει στην ελεύθερη κυκλοφορία προσώπων και υπηρεσιών και στην ενίσχυση της ανταγωνιστικότητας των μικρομεσαίων επιχειρήσεων, ώστε να μη δημιουργούνται ηλεκτρονικά τελωνεία. Το «roaming» πρέπει λοιπόν να καταργηθεί άμεσα. Υπενθυμίζω ότι αρχικός στόχος ήταν να καταργηθεί το 2015. Η Επιτροπή, υποκύπτοντας στις πιέσεις εταιρειών τηλεφωνίας, το άλλαξε για το 2017 και μάλιστα με όρους και προϋποθέσεις. Επιτέλους, κύριοι, σεβαστείτε τους πολίτες.

(Ende des Catch-the-eye-Verfahrens)

  Andrus Ansip, Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, I would like to thank everyone for this fruitful discussion we are having here right now. If I can just agree with Jens Rohde that time was too limited to broach all those difficult questions within one minute or even four minutes. It is practically impossible.

So let’s remember from where we started. A Member of the European Parliament, Viviane Reding, made a proposal and then we started to decrease roaming surcharges. But just one and a half years ago we were faced with the ‘5+5+5’ proposal: five minutes in five days in a year, ‘roam like at home.’ And people had to be happy about this proposal.

We had hot debates and we were able to find a solution. Thanks to this, roaming surcharges have decreased by 75% since this May. This is the first year people have said that they did not feel as if somebody was murdering their wallets when spending their summer holidays in other countries. In comparison with 2009 prices, we can say that the cost of roaming surcharges for calls, and SMS messages have decreased by 92%, and even by 96% for data.

Today, many of you said that that we are bullish with regard to roaming surcharges. It is not a done deal yet and finalising the whole process is very complicated.

As was mentioned by Mr Pereira, Member States are in very different situations. In southern countries operators had to make investments to provide services to tourists visiting those countries only during the three summer months. It means that those operators are not able to get revenues during the other nine months. Of course I am simplifying the situation.

It means they have the right to ask for higher prices. And this is the reason why they have blocked this wholesale reform. There is now a blocking minority in the south and also in the north.

What is wrong in the north? Nothing is wrong, but, as Miapetra Kumpula-Natri knows, in Finland for example, for the same price you can get 100 times as many gigabytes than in Hungary. While the average consumption of gigabytes in the European Union is just one gigabyte per month, in Finland it is 10 gigabytes per month.

Nevertheless, I think if this pattern of trips made by Europeans during the year does not change then the majority of service providers will survive. It means we have to prevent abuse of the system, because people will not start to travel just to avoid high roaming surcharges.

So fair use policies are, of course, important. As we know, we decided to withdraw this proposal based on daily limits. According to Eurostat, just 0.1% of all trips last longer than 92 days. So practically, financially in real life this is not an issue, and it was not an issue.

We have made new proposals based on residency, and I think they are better proposals. But we have to deal with wholesale prices. Today, I still think EUR 50 for one gigabyte is too much. It is too much, and even the proposal we made from the European Commission – EUR 8.50 per gigabyte – still leaves space to decrease wholesale prices.

We have to find a good compromise which allows us to protect those investments made in southern countries to provide services to tourists and also to protect those consumers in Scandinavian countries, for example, who love those generous offers with really affordable prices. So – as I said – I am sorry to say that is not yet a done deal.

The European Commission, Member States and the European Parliament have to work together to find the right balance, and we have to be keep our promises. We have to abolish roaming surcharges in the European Union. I am looking forward to a fruitful cooperation with you.

  Der Präsident. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 162 GO)

  José Blanco López (S&D), por escrito. – La digitalización de nuestras vidas es una realidad incuestionable e imparable. El futuro digital de Europa no espera: hay que encararlo ya para que los europeos puedan aprovechar sus oportunidades al máximo. Y eso exige reglas claras y justas. Exige que cuando viajemos no temamos facturas desorbitadas. La nueva propuesta sobre uso justo de la itinerancia, aunque debe mejorarse en cuestiones relativas a la privacidad y a la relación compañía-usuario, va en la buena dirección. Pero también exige garantías para el acceso a internet de todos, un terreno de juego equilibrado, en el que los mismos servicios estén sometidos a las mismas normas y mayor coordinación en el elemento clave para nuestras comunicaciones móviles: el espectro. Creo que la revisión del código de telecomunicaciones es un paso adelante que ayudará a lograr estos objetivos. Pero no debemos olvidarnos de las llamadas entre Estados miembros. Esta vez sí, debemos aprovechar la ocasión para acabar con los precios abusivos y con una barrera a las comunicaciones y al mercado único impropias del tiempo en que vivimos.

  Biljana Borzan (S&D), napisan. – Europski parlament je vrlo sumnjičav prema prijedlogu EK. Stavke po kojima operater ima pravo isključiti besplatan roaming su dosta neprecizne. Ostavlja se mogućnost da operater počne naplaćivati višu cijenu roaminga bez da je korisnik imao priliku da objasni svoju stranu priče. Telefonski račun je jedan od važnijih mjesečnih izdataka naših građana i ne smijemo ih ostaviti na milost i nemilost operaterima.

  Krzysztof Hetman (PPE), na piśmie. – Zniesienie opłat roamingowych to bez wątpienia jeden z wielkich sukcesów Unii Europejskiej, który w namacalny sposób pozwala Europejczykom odczuć korzyści, jakie niesie za sobą członkostwo we Wspólnocie. Wobec rosnącej fali populizmu i eurosceptycyzmu tego typu rzeczowe dowody na pozytywny wpływ Unii są nam niewątpliwie bardzo potrzebne. Uważam zatem, że musimy uczynić wszystko, by zniesienie roamingu było faktycznym zniesieniem roamingu, nie zaś sztucznym przerzuceniem kosztów z osób korzystających z telefonów za granicą na innych użytkowników telefonii komórkowej. Taka potencjalna sytuacja mogłaby zostać zinterpretowana jako znak na pozorność działań unijnych i słabość jej instytucji, a na to nie możemy sobie pozwolić. Dlatego też uważam, iż powinniśmy podjąć zdecydowane kroki mające na celu niedopuszczenie do tego typu działań ze strony operatorów komórkowych.

  Филиз Хюсменова (ALDE), в писмена форма. – Уважаеми г-н Председател, висококачествената и достъпна свързаност както за гражданите, така и за европейския бизнес е от изключителна важност за реализирането на пълния потенциал на единния цифров пазар. Убедена съм, че в дългосрочен план е в полза на всички заинтересовани страни да бъде постигната крайната ни цел – единен пазар на услугите в сектора на телекомуникациите. За да постигнем тази цел, ни е необходима всеобхватна работа чрез засилване на междуинституционалното сътрудничество за намиране на правилния баланс за справяне с фрагментацията в Европейския съюз и спазване на обещанието към европейските граждани за премахване на таксите за роуминг в ЕС.

  Csaba Molnár (S&D), írásban. –Az állampolgárok szemében az Európai Unió két legkézzelfoghatóbb előnye a gyermekeink által igénybe vehető Erasmus ösztöndíj és a roaming-mentes telefonálás és internetezés ígérete Európában. Az elmúlt hetekben az Európai Bizottság helyesen ismerte fel, hogy az európai emberek szemét nem lehet azzal kiszúrni, hogy egy évben „csak” 90 napig nem kell roamingot fizetni, a többi napokon pedig maximális kiszabható díjat szabnak meg. Az Európai Bizottság az európai állampolgárok érdekét szolgálja, amikor könyörtelenül leszámol a roaminggal. A határok nélküli Európában nincs létjogosultsága a barangolási díjaknak. A Bizottsággal egyetértve azon az állásponton vagyunk, hogy a roaming-díjak jelentős terheket jelentenek a felhasználóknak, a kivezetéséről szóló döntésnek nincs alternatívája.

Nem fogadunk el kevesebbet, mint a roaming-díjak teljes felszámolását korlátozások nélkül! A következő hónapokban az Európai Parlament feladata annak biztosítása, hogy a mobilszolgáltatók ne számolhassanak fel többet a külföldi telefonálásért, mint a belföldi hívásokért. Ennek szellemében végezzük továbbra is munkánkat!

  Victor Negrescu (S&D), in writing. – The end of roaming tariffs is close. Nevertheless there are still unfortunately some that expect it to fail. We will make sure in the European Parliament that the barriers to intra-European communication will disappear. Millions of Europeans are travelling across Europe every year and hundreds of thousands now live in another European country and they are entitled to fair tariffs and use of their telecommunications tools. Therefore I openly criticise the Commission for leaking in the media the possibility of restricting the free roaming period. Such things should never happen in the future because they affect our work and our credibility as a Union. At the same time with this important change for our citizens we have to continue to invest in the future of European telecommunications – from the introduction of new tools like 5G to the public investments in infrastructure.

  Момчил Неков (S&D), в писмена форма. – Предложението, което Европейската комисия отправи наскоро, засяга използването на мобилните услуги за клиентите на мобилните оператори, когато пътуват в чужбина - друга страна на Европейския съюз. Сегашното предложение е в правилната посока, но силно вярвам, че трябва да бъде повод за мерки, които да задават таван за заплащането на мобилни услуги, което да съответства на покупателната способност на гражданите.

Наскоро беше публикуван доклад, според който потребителите на предплатени мобилни услуги в моята страна България плащат едни от най-високите такси за предплатени мобилни услуги в цял свят. Нима това е справедливо?

Също така роуминг тарифите в страните, които са извън Европейския съюз, остават изключително високи.

Механизмът, по който работи EK в момента, защитава и интереса на мобилните оператори, но нима гражданите могат да бъдат обвинявани в злоупотреби, когато националните мобилни оператори таксуват несъразмерни суми за използването на техните услуги? Трябва да се сложи край на тези форми на ограбване и злоупотреба с нашите граждани и да се въведат правила, недопускащи безпринципни и несъразмерни такси, изземвани от тях.