Doslovný záznam ze zasedání

Čtvrtek, 6. dubna 2017 - Štrasburk

8.1. Velkoobchodní trhy s roamingem (A8-0372/2016 - Miapetra Kumpula-Natri)

Oral explanations of vote

  Jiří Pospíšil (PPE). – Pane předsedající, já jsem s velkou radostí podpořil toto usnesení, protože boj proti roamingu je konkrétní, hmatatelná věc, na které občanům národních států můžeme ukazovat, že Evropská unie může být přínosem pro jejich život a něco dobrého pro ně udělat. A jsem také rád, že jsme nakonec přijali odvážnější řešení než to, které původně navrhovala Komise, a že jsme ještě dále snížili stropy velkoobchodních poplatků za roaming. Chci v této věci poděkovat zpravodajce, která výrazně přispěla k tomu, že se každý rok budou ty stropy za poplatky za roaming snižovat. Takže ten návrh je dobrý, je správný, a proto jsem jej s radostí podpořil.

  Doru-Claudian Frunzulică (S&D). – Mr President, when the S&D Group called for an end to roaming charges almost six years ago, there was a lot of opposition from national governments, from the PPE Group in Parliament, and even from the Commission. Our perspective changed the situation and our longstanding priority will now finally become reality on 15 June.

Roaming charges are now a thing of the past. Europeans no longer face huge phone bills after travelling. They can use their phones abroad just like at home without paying extra. Instead of switching off their phone when crossing a border, people will now be able to call their friends at home, tweet from a conference, or check their emails at the airport. Under the leadership of our Group, Parliament defended the interest of citizens and small operators against big telecom companies, being able to push the data price cap down benefits consumers directly as the lower the cap, the more data they can use when travelling.

  Daniel Hannan (ECR). – Mr President, when this issue of roaming charges came before the Parliament, mine was one of the very few voices and very few votes against it. There is a competitive market, and there was no obvious need for state intervention. By privileging one particular type of tariff – in other words, that of the person who travels a lot – we end up effectively requiring a subsidy from kids on estates who don’t travel in order to subsidise people like us who do a lot of travel. But that is not my point today. I lost the argument and I lost that vote. My point is that the reduction in international roaming charges is happening anyway, is happening globally, and has nothing to do with this legislation. It is being done by individual operators.

We politicians are not as important as we think we are. There is this solipsistic fallacy where we assume that everything going on in the world is somehow the creation of laws and law-makers. A parting bit of advice as Britain comes towards the end of its time here, my friends: we are really not at the centre of affairs.

  Andrejs Mamikins (S&D). – Mr President, in the Middle Ages each feudal lord could block the road and start to take money from travellers for travelling on the road. We can see some feudal features in the mobile network market in the 21st century in the European Union. Important steps were taken by the Commission and Parliament to change the situation and abolish roaming charges in the EU, but the EU mobile network market remains fragmented. After the abolition of roaming charges, the next challenge could be that some big companies are tempted to take more money for a wholesale roaming charge. If we do not limit their wishes, this could lead to an increase in charges to consumers. The Commission and Parliament propose to establish the maximum level of wholesale roaming charges telecom operators can charge each other for calls, text messages and data from 15 June this year, and I am in favour of this decision.

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr. President, I am very pleased that now we are finally there in our seven-year battle to introduce ‘Roam like at home’ for our citizens, and I would like to thank all MEPs who voted in favour today: 547 in favour, 27 against, 50 abstaining. Indeed, I would take issue with what my good friend Mr Hannan said from the United Kingdom. The European Parliament did play a huge part. If the markets had their way, the prices would be much higher because they would collaborate with one another. When the Commission made its proposals, the wholesale prices were much higher, and it was only the good work of those of us who were actually involved – and if Mr Hannan and his colleagues had got more involved they would know what was going on – that reduced, first of all, the roaming charges over a period of years, and now finally this piece in the jigsaw: the wholesale charges and we can have ‘Roam like at home’. Otherwise, the prices would be sky high, as Mr Hannan would like us to have.