REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (recast)

14.10.2021 - (COM(2021)0085 – C9‑0085/2021 – 2021/0045(COD)) - ***I

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Rapporteur: Angelika Winzig
(Recast – Rule 110 of the Rules of Procedure)

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (recast)

(COM(2021)0085 – C9‑0085/2021 – 2021/0045(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure – recast)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2021)0085),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 173(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0085/2021),

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs on the proposed legal basis,

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of (...)[1],

– having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts[2],

– having regard to the letter of 1 October 2021 sent by the Committee on Legal Affairs to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy in accordance with Rule 110(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to Rules 110, 59 and 40 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A9-0286/2021),

A. whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the Commission proposal does not include any substantive amendments other than those identified as such in the proposal and whereas, as regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of the earlier acts together with those amendments, the proposal contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts, without any change in their substance;

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out, taking into account the recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

 

Amendment  1

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 4

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(4) As Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 expires on 30 June 2022, the aim of this Regulation is to recast it while introducing new measures to increase transparency, including on the use of value added services in roaming and ensure a genuine RLAH experience in terms of quality of service and access to emergency services while roaming. The duration of this new Regulation is set for 10 years, until 2032, to provide certainty in the market and minimise regulatory burden while introducing a mechanism for intervening at wholesale level in the interim if market developments so require.	(4) As Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 expires on 30 June 2022, the aim of this Regulation is to recast it while introducing new measures to increase transparency, including on the use of value added services in roaming and the use of roaming on non-terrestrial public mobile communications networks and to ensure a genuine RLAH experience in terms of quality of service and access to emergency services while roaming. The duration of this Regulation is set for 10 years, until 2032, in order to provide certainty in the market and minimise regulatory burdens while introducing a requirement that the Commission carry out reviews and submit biennial reports to the European Parliament and to the Council, together, if appropriate, with legislative proposals to amend this Regulation, where market developments so require. Because of the rapid market developments and roll-out of new technologies, the Commission will, in particular, assess whether it is appropriate to make a legislative proposal to amend this Regulation when issuing its second such report in 2027.

Amendment  2

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 9

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(9) The widespread use of internet-enabled mobile devices means that data roaming is of great economic significance. This is relevant for both users and providers of applications and content. In order to stimulate the development of this market, charges for data transport should not impede growth , in particular considering that the deployment of 5G networks and services is expected to grow steadily .	(9) The widespread use of internet-enabled mobile devices means that data roaming is of great economic significance. This is relevant for both users and providers of applications and content. In order to stimulate the development of this market, charges for data transport should not impede growth, in particular considering that the development and deployment of next generation, high-speed networks and services, are expected to accelerate steadily.

Amendment  3

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 10

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(10) Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council60 , Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council61 , Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council62 , Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council63 and Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council64 aimed to create an internal market for electronic communications within the Union while ensuring a high level of consumer protection through enhanced competition. Those Directives were repealed by Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council65 . Directive (EU) 2018/1972 aims to stimulate investment in and take-up of very high capacity networks in the EU as well as to set new spectrum rules for mobile connectivity and 5G. Directive (EU) 2018/1972 also ensures that all citizens have access to affordable communication, including the internet. It increases consumer protection and security for users and facilitates regulatory intervention.	(10) Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council60 , Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council61 , Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council62 , Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council63 and Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council64 aimed to create an internal market for electronic communications within the Union while ensuring a high level of consumer protection through enhanced competition. Directives 2002/19/EC, 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC were repealed by Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council65 . Directive (EU) 2018/1972 aims to stimulate investment in and take-up of very high capacity networks in the EU as well as to set new spectrum rules for mobile connectivity and 5G. Directive (EU) 2018/1972 also provides for the national regulatory and other competent authorities as well as BEREC, the Commission and the Member States to pursue, inter alia, the objectives of contributing to the development of the internal market and promoting the interests of the citizens of the Union. It ensures, inter alia, that all consumers have access to affordable communication, including the internet. It increases consumer protection and security for users and facilitates regulatory intervention.
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60 Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 7).	60 Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 7).
61 Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 21).	61 Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 21).
62 Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 33).	62 Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 33).
63 Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 51).	63 Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 51).
64 Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37).	64 Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37).
65 Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36).	65 Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36).

Amendment  4

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 14

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(14) In order to allow for the development of a more efficient, integrated and competitive market for roaming services, there should be no restrictions preventing undertakings from effectively negotiating wholesale access for the purpose of providing roaming services. Obstacles to access to such wholesale roaming services, due to differences in negotiating power and in the degree of infrastructure ownership of undertakings, should be removed. To that end, wholesale roaming access agreements should respect the principle of technology neutrality and ensure all operators an equal and fair opportunity to accessing all networks and technologies available and be negotiated in good faith allowing the roaming provider to offer retail roaming services equivalent to the services offered domestically. Mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and resellers of mobile communication services without their own network infrastructure typically provide roaming services based on commercial wholesale roaming agreements with their host mobile network operators in the same Member State. Commercial negotiations, however, may not leave enough margin to MVNOs and resellers for stimulating competition through lower prices. The removal of those obstacles and balancing the negotiation power between MVNOs/resellers and mobile network operators by an access obligation and wholesale caps should facilitate the development of alternative, innovative and Union-wide roaming services and offers for customers. Directive (EU) 2018/1972 does not provide for a solution to this problem via the imposition of obligations on operators with significant market powers.	(14) In order to allow for the development of a more efficient, integrated and competitive market for roaming services, there should be no restrictions that prevent undertakings from effectively negotiating wholesale access for the purpose of providing roaming services, including for IoT-devices. Obstacles to access to such wholesale roaming services, due to differences in negotiating power and in the degree of infrastructure ownership of undertakings, should be removed. To that end, wholesale roaming access agreements should respect the principle of technology neutrality and ensure all operators an equal and fair opportunity to accessing all networks and technologies available and be negotiated in good faith allowing the roaming provider to offer retail roaming services equivalent to the services offered domestically. However, this Regulation should not limit the possibility to conclude wholesale access with only those operators that have the most advanced networks. Operators should have the possibility to negotiate their wholesale roaming agreements according to their commercial needs. Therefore, this Regulation does not oblige operators to change their current roaming partners provided that the quality of service requirements stemming from this Regulation are respected. Wholesale roaming agreements should not jeopardise a genuine roam-like-at-home experience. Mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and resellers of mobile communication services without their own network infrastructure typically provide roaming services based on commercial wholesale roaming agreements with their host mobile network operators in the same Member State. Commercial negotiations, however, may not leave enough margin to MVNOs and resellers for stimulating competition through lower prices. The removal of those obstacles and balancing the negotiation power between MVNOs/resellers and mobile network operators by an access obligation and wholesale caps should facilitate the development of alternative, innovative and Union-wide roaming services and offers for customers. Directive (EU) 2018/1972 does not provide for a solution to this problem via the imposition of obligations on operators with significant market powers.

Amendment  5

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 15

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(15) Therefore an obligation to meet reasonable requests for wholesale access to public mobile communications networks for the purpose of providing roaming services should be laid down . Such access should be in line with the needs of those seeking access. End-users of services requiring modern technologies and retail roaming services should be able to enjoy the same quality of service when roaming as domestically. A wholesale roaming access obligation should therefore ensure that access seekers can replicate the retail services offered domestically, unless mobile network operators requested to provide access can prove that it is technically unfeasible to do so. Access should be refused only on the basis of objective criteria, such as technical feasibility and the need to maintain network integrity. Where access is refused, the aggrieved party should be able to submit the case for dispute resolution in accordance with the procedure set out in this Regulation. In order to ensure a level playing field, wholesale access for the purpose of providing roaming services should be granted in accordance with the regulatory obligations laid down in this Regulation applicable at the wholesale level and should take into account the different cost elements necessary for the provision of such access. A consistent regulatory approach to the wholesale access for the provision of roaming services should contribute to avoiding distortions between Member States. BEREC should, in coordination with the Commission and in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders, issue guidelines for wholesale access for the purpose of providing roaming services.	(15) Therefore an obligation to meet reasonable requests for wholesale access to public mobile communications networks for the purpose of providing roaming services should be laid down. Such access should be in line with the needs of those seeking access. End-users of services requiring modern technologies and retail roaming services should be able to enjoy the same quality of service, including with regard to an instant and seamless handover between mobile communications networks at internal Union borders, as compared to when roaming as domestically. A wholesale roaming access obligation should therefore ensure that access seekers can replicate the retail services offered domestically, unless mobile network operators requested to provide access can prove that it is technically unfeasible to do so. Access should be refused only on the basis of objective criteria, such as technical feasibility and the need to maintain network integrity. Where access is refused, the aggrieved party should be able to submit the case for dispute resolution in accordance with the procedure set out in this Regulation. In order to ensure a level playing field, wholesale access for the purpose of providing roaming services should be granted in accordance with the regulatory obligations laid down in this Regulation applicable at the wholesale level and should take into account the different cost elements necessary for the provision of such access. A consistent regulatory approach to the wholesale access for the provision of roaming services should contribute to avoiding distortions between Member States. BEREC should, in coordination with the Commission and in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders, issue guidelines for wholesale access for the purpose of providing roaming services.

Amendment  6

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 19

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(19) In accordance with Article 109 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, all end-users should have access to emergency services, free of charge, through emergency communications to the most appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP). Member States are also required to ensure that access for end-users with disabilities to emergency services is available through emergency communications and is equivalent to that enjoyed by other end-users. It is for the Member States to determine the type of emergency communications that are technically feasible to ensure roaming customers access to emergency services. In order to ensure that roaming customers have access to emergency communications under the conditions laid down in Article 109 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, visited network operators should inform the roaming provider through the wholesale roaming agreement about what type of emergency communications are mandated under national measures in the visited Member State. In addition, wholesale roaming agreements should include information on the technical parameters for ensuring access to emergency services, including for roaming customers with disabilities, as well as for ensuring the transmission of caller location information to the most appropriate PSAP in the visited Member State. Such information should allow the roaming provider to identify and provide the emergency communication and the transmission of caller location free of charge.	(19) In accordance with Article 109 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, all end-users should have access to emergency services, free of charge, through emergency communications to the most appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP). Member States are also required to ensure that access for end-users with disabilities to emergency services is available through emergency communications and is equivalent to that enjoyed by other end-users. Those means of access should take into account, in particular, the obligations imposed by Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2019/882, which require that Member States ensure that economic operators provide services that comply with the accessibility requirements of that Directive. The implementation of the means of access to emergency services available for roaming end-users with disabilities and the delivery of the caller location information should be based to the greatest extent possible on European standards or specifications that should be promoted by the Commission and Member States in cooperation with European standardisation bodies and other relevant institutions. It is for the Member States to determine the type of emergency communications that are technically feasible to ensure roaming customers access to emergency services. In order to ensure that roaming customers have access to emergency communications under the conditions laid down in Article 109 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, visited network operators should inform the roaming provider through the wholesale roaming agreement about what type of emergency communications are mandated under national measures in the visited Member State. In addition, wholesale roaming agreements should include information on the technical parameters for ensuring access to emergency services, including for roaming customers with disabilities, as well as for ensuring the transmission of caller location information, including handset-derived information, to the most appropriate PSAP in the visited Member State. Such information should allow the roaming provider to identify and provide the emergency communication and the transmission of caller location free of charge.

Amendment  7

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 23

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(23) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission in respect of setting out detailed rules on the application of the fair use policy and on the methodology for assessing the sustainability of the provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices , as well as on the application to be submitted by a roaming provider for the purposes of that assessment. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council66 .	(23) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission in respect of setting out detailed rules on the temporary and exceptional application of the fair use policy and on the methodology for assessing the sustainability of the provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices, as well as on the application to be submitted by a roaming provider for the purposes of that assessment. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council66 .
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66 Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).	66 Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).

Amendment  8

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 24

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(24) Until the adoption of those implementing measures, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/228667 should continue to apply.	(24) Until the adoption of those implementing measures, with a view to limiting the application of fair use policies in the Union, leading to a progressive phase-out of their application, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/228667 should continue to apply.
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67 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2286 of 15 December 2016 laying down detailed rules on the application of fair use policy and on the methodology for assessing the sustainability of the abolition of retail roaming surcharges and on the application to be submitted by a roaming provider for the purposes of that assessment (OJ L 344, 17.12.2016, p. 46).	67 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2286 of 15 December 2016 laying down detailed rules on the application of fair use policy and on the methodology for assessing the sustainability of the abolition of retail roaming surcharges and on the application to be submitted by a roaming provider for the purposes of that assessment (OJ L 344, 17.12.2016, p. 46).

Amendment  9

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 28

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(28) Roaming customers should, to the greatest extent possible, be able to use the retail services that they subscribe to and benefit from the same level of quality of service as at home, when roaming in the Union. To that end, roaming providers should take the necessary measures to ensure that regulated retail roaming services are provided under the same conditions as if such services were consumed domestically. In particular, the same quality of service should be offered to customers when roaming, if technically feasible.	(28) Roaming customers should be able to use the retail services that they subscribe to and benefit from the same level of quality of service as at home, when roaming in the Union. To that end, roaming providers should take the necessary measures to ensure that regulated retail roaming services are provided under the same conditions as if such services were consumed domestically. In particular, the same quality of service should be offered to customers when roaming, if available and technically feasible. BEREC should update its retail guidelines regarding the implementation of the quality of service measures in order to contribute to the consistent application of this Regulation. Commercial practices that result in reducing the quality of services of regulated retail roaming services should therefore be prohibited.

Amendment  10

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 29

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(29) Roaming providers should be able to apply a ‘fair use policy’ to the consumption of regulated retail roaming services provided at the applicable domestic retail price. The ‘fair use policy’ is intended to prevent abusive or anomalous usage of regulated retail roaming services by roaming customers, such as the use of such services by roaming customers in a Member State other than that of their domestic provider for purposes other than periodic travel. Roaming providers should, in cases of force majeure caused by circumstances such as pandemics or natural catastrophes which involuntarily extend the period of temporary stay of the roaming customer in another Member State, consider extending the applicable fair use allowance for an appropriate period, upon a justified request by the roaming customer . Any fair use policy should enable the roaming provider’s customers to consume volumes of regulated retail roaming services at the applicable domestic retail price that are consistent with their respective tariff plans.	(29) Roaming providers should be able to apply a ‘fair use policy’ to the consumption of regulated retail roaming services provided at the applicable domestic retail price in exceptional cases. The ‘fair use policy’ is limited to prevent abusive, fraudulent or anomalous usage of regulated retail roaming services by roaming customers, such as the use of such services by roaming customers in a Member State other than that of their domestic provider for purposes other than periodic travel. Roaming providers should, in cases of force majeure caused by circumstances such as pandemics, temporary border closures or natural catastrophes, which involuntarily extend the period of temporary stay of the roaming customer in another Member State, extend the applicable fair use allowance for an appropriate period, upon a justified request by the roaming customer. Any fair use policy should enable the roaming provider’s customers to consume volumes of regulated retail roaming services at the applicable domestic retail price that replicate their respective tariff plans.

Amendment  11

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 35

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(35) A contract which includes any type of regulated retail roaming service should specify the characteristics of that regulated retail roaming service, including the expected level of quality of service. The provider should make available information on relevant factors that can affect the quality of service, such as availability of certain technologies, coverage or variation due to external factors such as topography.	(35) A contract which includes any type of regulated retail roaming service should specify the characteristics of that regulated retail roaming service, including the expected level of quality of service. Those specifications should include clear and comprehensible information about the level of quality of service, including information regarding the transfer rates and available access technologies of each visited operator in each Member State. The provider should also make available information on other relevant factors that can affect further the quality of service, such as latency, coverage or variation due to external factors such as topography. Such a contract should also include clear and comprehensible information on the procedure for the filing of complaints available in cases where the quality of service does not correspond to the terms of the contract. It should be possible for the customer to verify the estimated download and upload speed, latency and available data transfer technology. The roaming provider should handle any complaints in that regard in a timely and effective manner. Those specifications, information and complaints procedures should be provided in line with BEREC’s retail roaming guidelines.

Amendment  12

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 36

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(36) Roaming customers and home operators sometimes unwittingly incur large bills as a result of the lack of transparency on the numbers used for value added services across the Union and on the wholesale prices charged for value added services. Communications to certain numbers which are used for providing value added services, for example, premium-rate numbers, freephone numbers or shared cost numbers, are subject to particular pricing conditions at the national level. This Regulation should not apply to the part of the tariff that is charged for the provision of value added services but only to the tariffs for the connection to such services. Neverthelss, the RLAH principle might create an expectation for end-users that communications to such numbers while roaming should not incur any increased cost in comparison to the domestic situation. However, this is not always the case when roaming. End-users are confronted with increased costs, even when they call numbers that are free when called domestically. This could erode customers’ confidence in using their phones when roaming and could result in bill shocks, thus having a negative impact on a genuine RLAH experience. This is mainly caused, at retail level by the insufficient level of transparency on the higher charges which can be incurred because of communications to value added services numbers. Therefore measures should be introduced to increase the transparency on the conditions for communications to value added services numbers. To that end, roaming customers should be informed in their contract and notified and warned, in a timely manner and free of charge, that communications to value added services numbers in roaming can entail additional charges.	(36) Roaming customers and home operators sometimes unwittingly incur large bills as a result of the lack of transparency on the numbers used for value added services across the Union and on the wholesale prices charged for value added services. Communications to certain numbers which are used for providing value added services, for example, premium-rate numbers, freephone numbers or shared cost numbers, are subject to particular pricing conditions at the national level. This Regulation should not apply to the part of the tariff that is charged for the provision of value added services but only to the tariffs for the connection to such services. Neverthelss, the RLAH principle might create an expectation for end-users that communications to such numbers while roaming should not incur any increased cost in comparison to the domestic situation. However, this is not always the case when roaming. End-users are confronted with increased costs, even when they call numbers that are free when called domestically. This could erode customers’ confidence in using their phones when roaming and could result in bill shocks, thus having a negative impact on a genuine RLAH experience. This is mainly caused, at retail level by the insufficient level of transparency on the higher charges which can be incurred because of communications to value added services numbers. Therefore measures should be introduced to protect customers from excessively high bills and increase the transparency on the conditions for communications to value added services numbers. To that end, roaming customers should be informed in their contract and notified and warned upfront, in a timely, user-friendly manner and free of charge, that communications to value added services numbers in roaming can entail additional charges. The roaming customer should receive information about those charges via a publicly available and accessible web page.

Amendment  13

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 42

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(42) To ensure that roaming customers have uninterrupted and effective access to emergency services, free of charge, visited networks should not levy any wholesale charge related to such emergency communications on the roaming providers.	(42) To ensure that roaming customers have uninterrupted and effective access to emergency services, free of charge, visited networks should not levy any wholesale charge related to all types of emergency communications on the roaming providers.

Amendment  14

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 43

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(43) In order to improve the transparency of retail prices for roaming services and to help roaming customers make decisions on the use of their mobile devices while abroad, providers of mobile communication services should supply their roaming customers with information free of charge on the roaming charges applicable to them when using roaming services in a visited Member State. Since certain customer groups might be well informed about roaming charges, roaming providers should provide a possibility to easily opt-out from this automatic message service. In addition, roaming customers should be provided with a text message including a link to a web page giving detailed information about the types of services (calls and SMS) that may be subject to increased costs. Moreover, providers should actively give their customers, provided that the latter are located in the Union, on request and free of charge, additional information on the per-minute, per-SMS or per-megabyte data charges (including VAT) for the making or receiving of voice calls and also for the sending and receiving of SMS, MMS and other data communication services in the visited Member State.	(43) In order to improve the transparency of retail prices for roaming services and to help roaming customers make decisions on the use of their mobile devices while abroad, providers of mobile communication services should supply their roaming customers with information free of charge on the roaming charges applicable to them when using roaming services in a visited Member State. In order to ensure a high level of protection for roaming customers, that information should include information about any additional charges when using non-terrestrial networks on board aircrafts or marine vessels. Roaming providers should provide a possibility for roaming customers to easily opt-out from this automatic message service. In addition, roaming customers should be provided free of charge with a text message including a link to a web page giving detailed information about the types of services that may be subject to increased costs as well as the means of access to emergency services in the visited Member State, free of charge. Moreover, providers should actively give their customers, provided that the latter are located in the Union, on request and free of charge, additional information on the per-minute, per-text message or per-megabyte data charges (including VAT) for the making or receiving of voice calls and also for the sending and receiving of text messages and data communication services in the visited Member State.

Amendment  15

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 44

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(44) This Regulation should in relation to regulated retail roaming services lay down specific transparency requirements aligned with the specific tariff and volume conditions applicable following the abolition of the retail roaming surcharges . In particular, provision should be made for roaming customers to be notified, in a timely manner and free of charge, of the applicable fair use policy, when the applicable fair use volume of regulated voice, SMS or data roaming services is fully consumed, of any surcharge, and of accumulated consumption of regulated data roaming services.	(44) This Regulation should in relation to regulated retail roaming services lay down specific transparency requirements aligned with the specific tariff and volume conditions applicable following the abolition of the retail roaming surcharges .In particular, provision should be made for roaming customers to be notified, in a timely and user-friendly manner and free of charge, of the applicable fair use policy, when the applicable fair use volume of regulated voice, text message or data roaming services is fully consumed, of any surcharge, of accumulated consumption of regulated data roaming services, and of using non-terrestrial networks.

Amendment  16

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 45

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(45) Customers living in border regions should not receive unnecessarily high bills due to inadvertent roaming. Roaming providers should therefore take reasonable steps to protect customers against incurring roaming charges while they are located in their Member State. This should include adequate information measures in order to empower customers to actively prevent such instances of inadvertent roaming. National regulatory authorities should be alert to situations in which customers face problems with paying roaming charges while they are still located in their Member State and should take appropriate steps to mitigate the problem.	(45) Customers living in border regions should not receive unnecessarily high bills due to inadvertent roaming, including for the use of non-terrestrial networks on board aircraft or marine vessels. Roaming providers should therefore take necessary measures, in order to minimise the risk of inadvertent roaming and to protect customers against incurring roaming charges while they are located in their Member State, in particular by informing them in a clear and comprehensible manner. Such measures should include, for example, cut-off limits as well as opt-in or opt-out mechanisms to roam in a network outside the Union, where technically feasible. This should include adequate information measures in order to empower customers to actively prevent such instances of inadvertent roaming. National regulatory authorities should be alert to situations in which customers face problems with paying roaming charges while they are still located in their Member State and should take appropriate steps to mitigate the problem.

Amendment  17

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 47

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(47) In addition, in order to avoid bill shocks, roaming providers should define one or more maximum financial and/or volume limits for their outstanding charges for data roaming services, expressed in the currency in which the roaming customer is billed, and which they should offer to all their roaming customers, free of charge, with an appropriate notification, in a media format that can be consulted again subsequently, when that limit is being approached. Upon reaching that maximum limit, customers should no longer receive or be charged for those services unless they specifically request continued provision of those services in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the notification. In such a case, they should receive free confirmation, in a media format that can be consulted again subsequently. Roaming customers should be given the opportunity to opt for any of those maximum financial or volume limits within a reasonable period or to choose not to have such a limit. Unless customers state otherwise, they should be put on a default limit system.	(47) In addition, in order to avoid bill shocks, roaming providers should define one or more maximum financial and/or volume limits for their outstanding charges for data roaming services, expressed in the currency in which the roaming customer is billed, and which they should offer to all their roaming customers, free of charge, with an appropriate notification, unless the roaming customer opts out of the measure, in a media format that can be consulted again subsequently, when that limit is being approached. Upon reaching that maximum limit, customers should no longer receive or be charged for those services unless they specifically request continued provision of those services in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the notification. In such a case, they should receive free confirmation, in a media format that can be consulted again subsequently. Roaming customers should be given the opportunity to opt out of those maximum financial or volume limits within a reasonable period or to choose not to have such a limit. Unless customers state otherwise, they should be put on a default limit system.

Amendment  18

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 49 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(49a) Price differences continue to prevail, both for fixed and mobile communications, between domestic voice and text message communications and those terminating in another Member State. Those price differences continue to affect more vulnerable customer groups and to pose barriers to seamless communication within the Union. Any significant retail price differences between electronic communications services terminating in the same Member State and those terminating in another Member State should therefore be justified by reference to objective criteria. Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 should therefore be amended accordingly.

Amendment  19

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 50

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(50) There are considerable disparities between regulated roaming tariffs within the Union and roaming tariffs incurred by customers when they are travelling outside the Union, which are significantly higher than prices within the Union, where roaming surcharges are only exceptionally applied following the abolition of retail roaming charges . Due to the absence of a consistent approach to transparency and safeguard measures concerning roaming outside the Union, consumers are not confident about their rights and are therefore often deterred from using mobile services while abroad. Transparent information provided to consumers could not only assist them in the decision as to how to use their mobile devices while travelling abroad (both within and outside the Union), but could also assist them in the choice between roaming providers. It is therefore necessary to address the problem of the lack of transparency and consumer protection by applying certain transparency and safeguard measures also to roaming services provided outside the Union. Those measures should facilitate competition and improve the functioning of the internal market.	(50) There are considerable disparities between regulated roaming tariffs within the Union and roaming tariffs incurred by customers when they are travelling outside the Union, which are significantly higher than prices within the Union, where roaming surcharges are only exceptionally applied following the abolition of retail roaming charges. Union citizens still face very high roaming fees when using mobile connections in third countries. In particular, citizens and businesses in external border regions would benefit greatly from roaming provisions with neighbouring countries similar to those in the Union. The Commission is therefore encouraged to include RLAH provisions in future international agreements with third countries, in particular with regard to third countries directly bordering the Union. Due to the absence of a consistent approach to transparency and safeguard measures concerning roaming outside the Union, consumers are not confident about their rights and are therefore often deterred from using mobile services while abroad. Transparent information provided to consumers could not only assist them in the decision as to how to use their mobile devices while travelling abroad (both within and outside the Union), but could also assist them in the choice between roaming providers. It is therefore necessary to address the problem of the lack of transparency and consumer protection by applying certain transparency and safeguard measures also to roaming services provided outside the Union. Bilateral agreements between operators in the Union and in third countries should be encouraged with the aim of minimising costs on the wholesale and at the retail level. Those measures should facilitate competition and improve the functioning of the internal market.

Amendment  20

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 52

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(52) Roaming providers should inform roaming customers of the possibility to access emergency services free of charge by calling the single European emergency number ‘112’ and by alternative means of access through emergency communications. Alternative means of access through emergency communications enable roaming customers, in particular roaming customers living with a disability, to access emergency services through other means than calls. For example, alternative means of access may be ensured through emergency applications, messaging, relay services or through real time text or total conversation implemented pursuant to Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council68 .	(52) Roaming providers should inform roaming customers of the possibility to access emergency services free of charge by calling the single European emergency number ‘112’ and by alternative means of access through emergency communications technically feasible to be used by roaming customers, particularly by those with disabilities. Alternative means of access through emergency communications enable roaming customers, in particular roaming customers living with a disability, to access emergency services through other means than calls. For example, alternative means of access may be ensured through emergency applications, messaging, relay services or through real time text or total conversation implemented pursuant to Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council68 .
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68 Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 70).	68 Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 70).

Amendment  21

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 53 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(53a) BEREC should establish and maintain a single Union-wide database containing the means of access to emergency communications that are mandated in each Member State. The database is intended to provide transparency to enable NRAs and operators to have direct access to information about how to access emergency communication in all Member States. The database represents a necessary intermediate step towards an increase in transparency at retail level and should be used to inform roaming customers about alternative ways to access emergency communications. BEREC should establish the procedures by which the competent authorities are to provide and update the information requested pursuant to this Regulation.

Amendment  22

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 59

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(59) It is necessary to monitor and to review regularly the functioning of wholesale roaming markets and their interrelationship with the retail roaming markets, taking into account competitive and technological developments and traffic flows. The Commission should submit two reports to the European Parliament and to the Council. In its biennial reports, the Commission should, in particular, assess whether RLAH has any impact on the evolution of tariff plans available on the retail markets. That should include, on the one hand, an assessment of any emergence of tariff plans that include only domestic services and that exclude retail roaming services altogether, thus undermining the very objective of RLAH and, on the other, an assessment of any reduction in the availability of flat-rate tariff plans, which could also represent a loss for consumers and undermine the objectives of the digital single market. The Commission’s reports should, in particular, analyse the extent to which exceptional retail roaming surcharges have been authorised by national regulatory authorities, the ability of home network operators to sustain their domestic charging models and the ability of visited network operators to recover the efficiently incurred costs of providing regulated wholesale roaming services. In addition, the Commission’s reports should assess how, at wholesale level, access to the different network technologies and generations is ensured; the level of usage of trading platforms and similar instruments to trade traffic at wholesale level; the evolution of the machine-to-machine roaming; the persisting problems at retail level in relation to value added services and the application of the measures on emergency communications . In order to enable such reporting with a view to assessing how the roaming markets adapt to RLAH rules, sufficient data should be gathered on the functioning of those markets after the implementation of those rules.	(59) It is necessary to monitor and to review regularly the functioning of wholesale roaming markets and their interrelationship with the retail roaming markets, taking into account competitive and technological developments and traffic flows. The Commission should submit biennial reports to the European Parliament and to the Council. The first such report should be submitted by 30 June 2025. In its biennial reports, the Commission should, in particular, assess whether RLAH has any impact on the evolution of tariff plans available on the retail markets. That should include, on the one hand, an assessment of any emergence of tariff plans that include only domestic services and that exclude retail roaming services altogether, thus undermining the very objective of RLAH and, on the other, an assessment of any reduction in the availability of flat-rate tariff plans, which could also represent a loss for consumers and undermine the objectives of the digital single market. The Commission’s reports should, in particular, analyse the extent to which exceptional retail roaming surcharges have been authorised by national regulatory authorities, the ability of home network operators to sustain their domestic charging models and the ability of visited network operators to recover the efficiently incurred costs of providing regulated wholesale roaming services. In addition, the Commission’s reports should assess how, at wholesale level, access to the different network technologies and generations is ensured; the level of usage of trading platforms and similar instruments to trade traffic at wholesale level; the evolution of the machine-to-machine roaming; the persisting problems at retail level in relation to value added services and inadvertent roaming, as well as the application of the measures on emergency communications; the effectiveness of the quality of service obligations laid down in this Regulation and the extent to which customers are properly informed in their contracts about those obligations and can benefit from a genuine RLAH experience. Furthermore, the Commission's reports should assess what impact the roll-out and the implementation of new network technologies (e.g. 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) services) as well as the COVID-19 pandemic have on the roaming market, in particular the increased level of uncertainty regarding the predictability of future volumes of roaming traffic. In order to enable such reporting with a view to assessing how the roaming markets adapt to RLAH rules, sufficient data should be gathered on the functioning of those markets after the implementation of those rules. The Commission should, on an ongoing basis, work on obtaining new data on the roaming market and making that data publicly available.

Amendment  23

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 60 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(60a) In the medium term, facilitating M2M and IoT roaming should be recognised as an important driver to digitise Union industry and build on related Union policies for sectors such as health, energy, environment, and transport. The Commission should regularly assess the M2M and IoT connectivity market and provide recommendations in cooperation with BEREC and relevant stakeholders.

Amendment  24

 

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 62

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(62) In order to ensure that the maximum wholesale charges are based on recent and updated data, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission to amend the maximum wholesale charges that a visited network operator can levy on the roaming provider for the provision of regulated voice, SMS or data roaming services by means of that visited network. This Regulation should lay down the detailed criteria and parameters on the basis of which the values of those maximum wholesale charges are set. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making69 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.	(62) In order to ensure that this Regulation remains based on recent and updated data, the Commission should monitor closely the developments in the roaming market as laid down in this Regulation. When necessary and appropriate the biennial reports should be accompanied by a legislative proposal addressing any change of circumstances within the roaming market.
__________________	__________________
69 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.	69 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.

Amendment  25

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 63

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(63) Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to provide for a common approach for ensuring that users of public mobile communications networks, when travelling within the Union, do not pay excessive prices for Union-wide roaming services in comparison with competitive national prices, while increasing transparency and ensuring sustainability of the provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices as well as a genuine RLAH experience in terms of quality of service and access to emergency services while roaming, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with  the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.	(63) Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to provide for a common approach for ensuring that users of public mobile communications networks, when travelling within the Union, and while using non-terrestrial networks on board aircrafts or marine vessels, do not pay excessive prices for Union-wide roaming services in comparison with competitive national prices, while increasing transparency and consumer protection, as well as ensuring sustainability of the provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices as well as a genuine RLAH experience in terms of quality of service and access to emergency services while roaming, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

Amendment  26

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
1. This Regulation provides for a common approach for ensuring that users of public mobile communications networks, when travelling within the Union, do not pay excessive prices for Union-wide roaming services in comparison with competitive national prices, when making calls and receiving calls, when sending and receiving SMS messages and when using packet switched data communication services, thereby contributing to the smooth functioning of the internal market while achieving a high level of consumer protection, fostering competition and transparency in the market and offering both incentives for innovation and consumer choice.	1. This Regulation provides for a common approach for ensuring that users of public mobile communications networks, when travelling within the Union, do not pay excessive prices for Union-wide roaming services in comparison with competitive national prices, when making calls and receiving calls, when sending and receiving SMS messages and when using packet switched data communication services, thereby contributing to the smooth functioning of the internal market while, needs to fully comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union while achieving a high level of consumer protection, data protection, privacy and trust, fostering independence and transparency in the market and offering both incentives for innovation and consumer choice and the integration of people with disabilities.

Amendment  27

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point d

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(d) ‘visited network’ means a terrestrial public mobile communications network situated in a Member State other than that of the roaming customer’s domestic provider that permits a roaming customer to make or receive calls, to send or receive SMS messages or to use packet switched data communications, by means of arrangements with the home network operator;	(d) ‘visited network’ means a public mobile communications network situated in a Member State other than that of the roaming customer’s domestic provider that permits a roaming customer to make or receive calls, to send or receive SMS messages or to use packet switched data communications, by means of arrangements with the home network operator;

Amendment  28

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
1. Mobile network operators shall meet all reasonable requests for wholesale roaming access , in particular allowing the roaming provider to replicate the retail mobile services offered domestically, when technically feasible .	1. Mobile network operators shall meet all reasonable requests for wholesale roaming access, in particular allowing the roaming provider to replicate the retail mobile services offered domestically, when available and technically feasible on the visited network. Commercial practices that result in intentionally or fraudulently preventing wholesale roaming access shall be prohibited.

Amendment  29

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 – paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
3. Wholesale roaming access shall cover access to all network elements and associated facilities, relevant services, software and information systems, necessary for the provision of regulated roaming services to customers , on any network technology and generation available .	3. Wholesale roaming access shall cover access to all network elements and associated facilities, relevant services, software and information systems, necessary for the provision of regulated roaming services to customers, on any network technology and generation available, in accordance with paragraph 1.

Amendment  30

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 – paragraph 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	3a. BEREC shall, in close cooperation with the Commission and relevant stakeholders, assess, on an ongoing basis, the regulatory framework for consumers, businesses and operators to ensure access to next generation connectivity such as 5G as well as future networks and technologies.

Amendment  31

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
2. Roaming providers shall ensure, when technically feasible, that regulated retail roaming services are provided under the same conditions as if such services were consumed domestically, in particular in terms of quality of service.	2. Roaming providers shall ensure, when available and technically feasible, that regulated retail roaming services are provided under the same conditions as if such services were consumed domestically, in particular in terms of quality of service, including with regard to an instant and seamless handover between mobile communications networks at internal Union borders. Roaming providers shall not deliberately offer regulated retail roaming services subject to conditions that are less favourable than those offered domestically, where the same generation of mobile communication networks, conditions and technologies are available on the visited network. Commercial practices that result in reducing the quality of services of regulated retail roaming services shall be prohibited.

Amendment  32

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	Where roaming providers offer conditions that are less favourable than those offered domestically, they shall inform their users and provide reasons therefor.

Amendment  33

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	2a. In order to contribute to the consistent application of this Article, BEREC shall, by...  [6 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], after consulting stakeholders and in close cooperation with the Commission, update its retail guidelines regarding the implementation of the quality-of-service measures.

Amendment  34

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 – paragraph 2 b (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	2b. BEREC shall closely monitor the market and provide assessments on the quality of service, including reports on the statistics about complaints received by consumers on the quality of services and the suitability of the existing regulatory framework.

Amendment  35

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 6 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
1. Roaming providers may apply in accordance with this Article and the implementing acts referred to in Article 8 a ‘fair use policy’ to the consumption of regulated retail roaming services provided at the applicable domestic retail price level, in order to prevent abusive or anomalous usage of regulated retail roaming services by roaming customers, such as the use of such services by roaming customers in a Member State other than that of their domestic provider for purposes other than periodic travel.	1. In exceptional cases, Roaming providers may apply in accordance with this Article and the implementing acts referred to in Article 8 a ‘fair use policy’ to the consumption of regulated retail roaming services provided at the applicable domestic retail price level, in order to prevent abusive, fraudulent or anomalous usage of regulated retail roaming services by roaming customers, such as the use of such services by roaming customers in a Member State other than that of their domestic provider for purposes other than periodic travel.

Amendment  36

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 6 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Any fair use policy shall enable the roaming provider’s customers to consume volumes of regulated retail roaming services at the applicable domestic retail price that are consistent with their respective tariff plans.	Any fair use policy shall enable the roaming provider’s customers to consume volumes of regulated retail roaming services at the applicable domestic retail price that replicate their respective tariff plans.

Amendment  37

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 8 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
1. In order to ensure consistent application of Articles 6 and 7, the Commission shall, after having consulted BEREC, adopt and periodically review in the light of market developments implementing acts laying down detailed rules on the application of fair use policy and on the methodology for assessing the sustainability of the provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices and on the application to be submitted by a roaming provider for the purposes of that assessment. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 4(2).	1. By 31 December 2022, in order to ensure consistent application of Articles 6 and 7 and with a view to limiting the application of fair use policies in the Union leading to a progressive phase-out of their application, the Commission shall, after having consulted BEREC, adopt and periodically review in the light of market developments implementing acts laying down detailed rules on the application of fair use policy and on the methodology for assessing the sustainability of the provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices and on the application to be submitted by a roaming provider for the purposes of that assessment. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 4(2).

Amendment  38

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 8 – paragraph 5

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
5. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2286 shall continue to apply until the entry into force of a new implementing act adopted pursuant to paragraph 1.	5. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2286 shall continue to apply until the entry into force of a new implementing act adopted pursuant to paragraph 1. Providers shall gradually phase out the general application of fair use policy, except for the unlimited data bundle tariff model, which may be applied only where the anomalous or abusive use of wholesale roaming access, permanent roaming or justified fraudulent practices is observed.

Amendment  39

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 3 – point c

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(c) the quality of service that can reasonably be expected when roaming in the Union.	(c) clear and comprehensible information on the quality of service when roaming in the Union, including the estimated maximum and advertised download and upload speed of the data access services, disaggregated by Member State and by provider, in accordance with the BEREC guidelines referred to in paragraph 5a.

Amendment  40

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 4 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	4a. Roaming providers shall ensure that a contract includes clear information on the procedure for the filing of complaints where the quality of service breaches the terms of the contract.

Amendment  41

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 5 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	5a. For the purpose of ensuring the consistent application of this Article, BEREC shall, by ... [6 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], after consulting stakeholders and in close cooperation with the Commission, update its retail roaming guidelines, in particular, in regard to the implementation of and information about the quality of service referred to in paragraphs 3, point c and paragraph 4a of this Article, the enforcement of relevant contractual provisions by customers, and the transparency measures referred to in Articles 14, 15 and 16.

Amendment  42

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 10 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
1. The average wholesale charge that the visited network operator may levy on the roaming provider for the provision of a regulated roaming call originating on that visited network, inclusive, among others, of origination, transit and termination costs, shall not exceed a safeguard limit of EUR 0,022 per minute. That maximum wholesale charge shall decrease to EUR 0,019 per minute on 1 January 2025 and shall, without prejudice to Articles 21, 22 and 23, remain at EUR 0,019 per minute until 30 June 2032 .	1. The average wholesale charge that the visited network operator may levy on the roaming provider for the provision of a regulated roaming call originating on that visited network, inclusive, among others, of origination, transit and termination costs, shall not exceed a safeguard limit of EUR 0,015 per minute. That maximum wholesale charge shall decrease to EUR 0,01 per minute in 2025 and shall, without prejudice to Article 21 remain at EUR 0,01 per minute until 30 June 2032.

Amendment  43

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 11 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
1. The average wholesale charge that the visited network operator may levy on the roaming provider for the provision of a regulated roaming SMS message originating on that visited network shall not exceed a safeguard limit of EUR 0,004 per SMS message . That maximum wholesale charge shall decrease to EUR 0,003 per SMS message on 1 January 2025, and shall, without prejudice to Articles 21, 22 and 23 , remain at EUR 0,003 until 30 June 2032 .	1. The average wholesale charge that the visited network operator may levy on the roaming provider for the provision of a regulated roaming SMS message originating on that visited network shall not exceed a safeguard limit of EUR 0,003 per SMS message. That maximum wholesale charge shall without prejudice to Article 21 remain at EUR 0,003 until 30 June 2032.

Amendment  44

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
1. The average wholesale charge that the visited network operator may levy on the roaming provider for the provision of regulated data roaming services by means of that visited network shall not exceed a safeguard limit of EUR 2,00 per gigabyte of data transmitted. That maximum wholesale charge shall decrease to EUR 1,50 per gigabyte of data transmitted on 1 January 2025 and shall, without prejudice to Articles 21, 22 and 23 remain at EUR 1,50 per gigabyte of data transmitted until 30 June 2032 .	1. The average wholesale charge that the visited network operator may levy on the roaming provider for the provision of regulated data roaming services by means of that visited network shall not exceed a safeguard limit of EUR 1,00 per gigabyte of data transmitted. That maximum wholesale charge shall decrease to EUR 0,75 per gigabyte of data transmitted on 1 January 2024 and to EUR 0,50 per gigabyte on 1 January 2025. The maximum wholesale charge shall, without prejudice to Article 21 remain at EUR 0,50 per gigabyte of data transmitted until 30 June 2032.

Amendment  45

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 13 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Without prejudice to Articles 10, 11 and 12, the visited network operator shall not levy on the roaming provider any charge related to the emergency communications initiated by the roaming customer and the transmission of caller location information.	Without prejudice to Articles 10, 11 and 12, the visited network operator shall not levy on the roaming provider any charges related to any type of emergency communications initiated by the roaming customer and the transmission of caller location information. All clearly identifiable means of emergency services shall be provided without any additional charge.

Amendment  46

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Roaming providers shall, except when the roaming customer has notified the roaming provider that he does not require this service, provide the customer, automatically by means of a Message Service, without undue delay and free of charge, when the roaming customer enters a Member State other than that of his domestic provider, with information on the potential risk of increased charges due to the use of value added services including a link to a dedicated webpage providing information about the types of services that may be subject to increased costs and, if available, information on value added services number ranges.	Roaming providers shall, except when the roaming customers have notified the roaming provider that they do not require this service, provide the customer, automatically by means of a Message Service, without undue delay and free of charge, when the roaming customers enter a Member State other than that of their domestic provider, with information on the potential risk of increased charges due to the use of value added services in the visited Member State, including access, free of charge, to a link to a dedicated webpage providing information about the types of services that may be subject to increased costs and, when available, information on value added services number ranges and possible applicable charges.

Amendment  47

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 7

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
The first, second, fifth and sixth subparagraphs, with the exception of the reference to the fair use policy and the surcharge applied in accordance with Article 7, shall also apply to voice and SMS roaming services used by roaming customers travelling outside the Union and provided by a roaming provider.	The first, second, fifth and sixth subparagraphs, with the exception of the reference to the fair use policy and the surcharge applied in accordance with Article 7, shall also apply to voice and text message roaming services used by roaming customers and provided by a roaming provider in a third country and for the use of non-terrestrial networks.

Amendment  48

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
2. In addition to the information provided for in paragraph 1, customers shall have the right to request and receive, free of charge, and irrespective of their location within the Union, more detailed personalised pricing information on the roaming charges that apply in the visited network to voice calls and SMS, and information on the transparency measures applicable by virtue of this Regulation, by means of a mobile voice call or by SMS. Such a request shall be to a free-of-charge number designated for this purpose by the roaming provider. Obligations provided for in paragraph 1 shall not apply to devices which do not support SMS functionality.	2. In addition to the information provided for in paragraph 1, customers shall have the right to request and receive, free of charge, and irrespective of their location within the Union, more detailed personalised pricing information on the roaming charges that apply in the visited network to voice calls and text messages, and information on the transparency measures applicable by virtue of this Regulation, by means of a mobile voice call or by text message. Such a request shall be to a free-of-charge number designated for this purpose by the roaming provider. Obligations provided for in paragraph 1 shall not apply to devices which do not support text message functionality.

Amendment  49

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 5

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
5. Roaming providers shall make available information to their customers on how to avoid inadvertent roaming in border regions. Roaming providers shall take reasonable steps to protect their customers from paying roaming charges for inadvertently accessed roaming services while situated in their home Member State.	5. Roaming providers shall make available information to their customers on how to avoid inadvertent roaming in border regions and while using non-terrestrial networks. Roaming providers shall take the necessary measures to protect their customers from paying roaming charges for inadvertently accessed roaming services while situated in their home Member State.

Amendment  50

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
The information shall be delivered to the roaming customer’s mobile device, for example by an SMS message, an e-mail or a pop-up window on the mobile device, every time the roaming customer enters a Member State other than that of his domestic provider and initiates for the first time a data roaming service in that particular Member State. It shall be provided free of charge at the moment the roaming customer initiates a regulated data roaming service, by an appropriate means adapted to facilitate its receipt and easy comprehension.	The information shall be delivered directly to the roaming customer’s mobile device, for example by means of a text message or a pop-up window on the mobile device, every time the roaming customer enters a Member State other than that of his domestic provider and initiates for the first time a data roaming service in that particular Member State. It shall be provided free of charge at the moment the roaming customer initiates a regulated data roaming service, by an appropriate means adapted to facilitate its receipt and easy comprehension.

Amendment  51

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
4. Each roaming provider shall grant to all their roaming customers the opportunity to opt deliberately and free of charge for a facility which provides in a timely manner information on the accumulated consumption expressed in volume or in the currency in which the roaming customer is billed for regulated data roaming services and which guarantees that, without the customer’s explicit consent, the accumulated expenditure for regulated data roaming services over a specified period of use, excluding MMS billed on a per-unit basis, does not exceed a specified financial limit.	4. Each roaming provider shall grant to all their roaming customers free of charge access to a facility which provides in a timely manner information on the accumulated consumption expressed in volume or in the currency in which the roaming customer is billed for regulated data roaming services and which guarantees that, without the customer’s explicit consent, the accumulated expenditure for regulated data roaming services over a specified period of use, excluding MMS billed on a per-unit basis, does not exceed a specified financial limit. Customers may notify the roaming provider that they do not require access to such a facility.

Amendment  52

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 6

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Each roaming provider shall also ensure that an appropriate notification is sent to the roaming customer’s mobile device, for example by an SMS message, an e-mail or a pop-up window on the computer, when the data roaming services have reached 80% of the agreed financial or volume limit. Each customer shall have the right to require the roaming provider to stop sending such notifications and shall have the right, at any time and free of charge, to require the provider to provide the service again.	Each roaming provider shall also ensure that an appropriate notification is sent directly to the roaming customer’s mobile device, for example by means of a text message or a pop-up window on the computer, when the data roaming services have reached 80% of the agreed financial or volume limit. Each customer shall have the right to require the roaming provider to stop sending such notifications and shall have the right, at any time and free of charge, to require the provider to provide the service again.

Amendment  53

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 8

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Whenever a roaming customer requests to opt for or to remove a financial or volume limit facility, the change shall be made within one working day of receipt of the request, shall be free of charge, and shall not entail conditions or restrictions pertaining to other elements of the subscription.	Whenever a roaming customer requests to remove or opt for a financial or volume limit facility, the change shall be made within one working day of receipt of the request, shall be free of charge, and shall not entail conditions or restrictions pertaining to other elements of the subscription.

Amendment  54

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 6

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
6. Roaming providers shall take reasonable steps to protect their customers from paying roaming charges for inadvertently accessed roaming services while situated in their home Member State. This shall include informing customers on how to avoid inadvertent roaming in border regions.	6. Roaming providers shall take the necessary measures to effectively protect their customers from paying roaming charges for inadvertently accessed roaming services while situated in their home Member State. This shall include informing customers on how to effectively avoid inadvertent roaming in border regions.

Amendment  55

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
This Article, with the exception of paragraph 6, the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3, and subject to the second and third subparagraphs of this paragraph, shall also apply to data roaming services used by roaming customers travelling outside the Union and provided by a roaming provider.	This Article, with the exception of paragraph 6, the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3, and subject to the second and third subparagraphs of this paragraph, shall also apply to data roaming services used by roaming customers travelling outside the Union and provided by a roaming provider and to using non-terrestrial networks.

Amendment  56

Proposal for a regulation

Article 16 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
An automatic message from the roaming provider shall inform the roaming customer that the latter may access emergency services free of charge by calling the single European emergency number ‘112’ and by alternative means of access to emergency services through emergency communications mandated in the visited Member State. The information shall be delivered to the roaming customer’s mobile device by an SMS message, every time the roaming customer enters a Member State other than that of his domestic provider. It shall be provided free of charge at the moment the roaming customer initiates a roaming service, by an appropriate means adapted to facilitate its receipt and easy comprehension.	An automatic message from the roaming provider shall inform the roaming customer that the latter may access emergency services free of charge by contacting the single European emergency number ‘112’ and by including a link to a dedicated web page that is free of charge and fully accessible to people with disabilities , which provides information about alternative means of access to emergency services through emergency communications mandated in the visited Member State. The information shall be delivered directly to the roaming customer’s mobile device by a text message, every time the roaming customer enters a Member State other than that of their domestic provider. It shall be provided free of charge by an appropriate means adapted to facilitate its receipt and easy comprehension. Roaming providers should include in that message an accessible link to the mobile application through which public warnings are transmitted in the visited Member State, if applicable.

Amendment  57

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 17 – title

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Database for numbers of value added service	Database for numbers of value added service and means of access to emergency services

Amendment  58

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 17 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
BEREC shall establish and maintain a single Union-wide database of value added services numbering ranges in each Member State to be made accessible for national regulatory authorities and operators. The database shall be established by 31 December 2023. To that end, the NRA or other competent authorities shall, by electronic means, provide the necessary information and the relevant updates to BEREC without undue delay.	BEREC shall establish and maintain a single Union-wide database of value added services numbering ranges in each Member State and of means of access to emergency services through emergency communications provided for in each Member State. The database shall be made accessible for national regulatory authorities and operators by 31 December 2022. To that end, the NRA or other competent authorities shall, by electronic means, provide the necessary information and the relevant updates to BEREC without undue delay.

Amendment  59

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
1. The Commission shall , after consulting BEREC, submit two reports to the European Parliament and to the Council. Where necessary, after submitting each report, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act pursuant to Article 22 amending the maximum wholesale charges for regulated roaming services laid down in this Regulation. The first such report shall be submitted by 30 June 2025 and the second by 30 June 2029 .	1. The Commission shall, after consulting BEREC, submit biennial reports to the European Parliament and to the Council, together, if appropriate, with a legislative proposal to amend this Regulation. The first such report shall be submitted by 30 June 2025.

Amendment  60

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(aa) the impact of the roll-out and implementation of next generation mobile communication networks and technologies on the roaming market;

Amendment  61

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point c

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(c) the evolution of the machine-to-machine roaming;	(c) the evolution of roaming for machine-to-machine and IoT services;

Amendment  62

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point i

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(i) the impact of the application of fair use policies by operators in accordance with Article 8, including the identification of any inconsistencies in the application and implementation of such fair use policies;	(i) the impact of the application of fair use policies by operators in accordance with Article 8, including the identification of any inconsistencies in the application and implementation of such fair use policies and the extent to which such policies are needed in the future;

Amendment  63

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point i a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(ia) the effectiveness of the quality of service obligations introduced in this Regulation and to the extent to which customers are properly informed and can benefit from a genuine RLAH experience;

Amendment  64

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point i b (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(ib) the development of alternative ways of trading wholesale roaming traffic, in particular online trading platforms;

Amendment  65

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point j

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(j) the extent to which roaming customers and operators face problems in relation to value added services;	(j) the extent to which roaming customers and operators face problems in relation to value added services, access to emergency communications and inadvertent roaming and how those problems can be resolved;

Amendment  66

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point j a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(ja) the effectiveness of this Regulation in ensuring equal access to electronic communications by persons with disabilities when travelling within the Union;

Amendment  67

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point j b (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(jb) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and similar crises.

Amendment  68

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 2 – introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
2. In order to assess competitive developments in the Union-wide roaming markets, BEREC shall collect data regularly from national regulatory authorities on developments in retail and wholesale charges for regulated voice, SMS and data roaming services, including wholesale charges applied for balanced and unbalanced roaming traffic respectively , on the use of trading platforms and similar instruments, on the development of machine-to-machine roaming, and on the extent to which wholesale roaming agreements cover quality of service and give access to different network technologies and generations. BEREC shall also collect data regularly from national regulatory authorities on the application of fair use policy by operators, the developments of domestic-only tariffs, the application of the sustainability mechanisms and complaints on roaming. When consulted pursuant to paragraph 1, BEREC shall collect and provide additional information on transparency, the application of measures on emergency communication and on value added services .	2. In order to assess competitive developments in the Union-wide roaming markets, BEREC shall collect data regularly from national regulatory authorities on developments in retail and wholesale charges for regulated voice, SMS and data roaming services, including wholesale charges applied for balanced and unbalanced roaming traffic respectively , on the use of trading platforms and similar instruments, on the development of machine-to-machine roaming and IoT services, and on the extent to which wholesale roaming agreements cover quality of service and give access to different network technologies and generations. BEREC shall also collect data regularly from national regulatory authorities on the application of fair use policy by operators, the developments of domestic-only tariffs, the application of the sustainability mechanisms and complaints on roaming, including complaints about the quality of services. When consulted pursuant to paragraph 1, BEREC shall collect and provide additional information on transparency, including on roaming on non-terrestrial public mobile communications networks, the application of measures on emergency communication and on value added services.

Amendment  69

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 22

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Article 22	deleted
Revision of the maximum wholesale charges
The Commission shall, taking utmost account of the opinion of BEREC, adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 23 to amend the maximum wholesale charges that a visited network operator can levy on the roaming provider for the provision of regulated voice, SMS or data roaming services by means of that visited network under Articles 10, 11 and 12.
To that end, the Commission shall:
(a) comply with the principles, criteria and parameters set out in Annex I;
(b) take into account the current average wholesale rates charged across the Union and the need to leave appropriate economic space for the commercial market to evolve;
(c) take into account market information provided by BEREC, national regulatory authorities or, directly, by undertakings providing electronic communications networks and services.

Amendment  70

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 23

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Article 23	deleted
Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 21 and 22 shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from 1 January 2025.
3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 21 and 22 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.
4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016.
5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.
6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 21 and 22 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by one month at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Amendment  71

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 25 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	Article 25 a
	Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2015/2120
	Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 is amended as follows:
	(1) the title is replaced by the following:
	‘Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 laying down measures concerning open internet, abolishing retail surcharges for regulated intra-Union communications and amending Directive 2002/22/EC and Regulation (EU) No 531/2012’;
	(2)  in Article 1, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
	‘This Regulation also abolishes retail surcharges for regulated intra-Union communications to ensure that consumers are not charged excessive prices for making number-based interpersonal communications originating in the Member State of the consumer’s domestic provider and terminating at any fixed or mobile number in another Member State;
	(3)  Article 5a is replaced by the following:
	‘Article 5a
	Abolition of retail surcharges for regulated intra-EU communications
	1.  Providers of electronic communications to the public shall not apply tariffs to regulated intra-EU communications terminating in another Member State that are higher than the tariffs applicable to services terminating in the same Member State, unless they demonstrate the existence of direct costs that are objectively justified.
	2.  By... [six months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], BEREC shall provide guidelines setting out the criteria for determining the objectively justified direct costs referred to in paragraph 1.
	3.  By... [one year after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], and biennially thereafter, the Commission shall, after consulting BEREC, provide a report on the application of the requirement laid down in paragraph 1, including an assessment of the evolution of intra-Union communication tariffs.; (4)  in Article 10, paragraph 5 is deleted.

Amendment  72

 

Proposal for a regulation

Article 26 – paragraph 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	This Regulation shall apply from ... [the date of entry into force of this Regulation], save that Article 14(1), third subparagraph, and Article 16, second paragraph, shall apply from 1 June 2023.

Amendment  73

 

Proposal for a regulation

Annex I

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Criteria for the determination of maximum wholesale charges	deleted
Principles, criteria and parameters for the determination of maximum wholesale charges referred to in Article 22:
(a) the rates shall allow recovery of wholesale roaming costs incurred by an efficient operator in any Member State when offering the relevant, regulated wholesale service; the evaluation of efficient costs shall be based on current cost values; the cost methodology to calculate efficient costs shall be based on a bottom-up modelling approach using long-run incremental costs plus some allocation of joint and common costs (LRIC+) of providing the wholesale roaming services to third parties;
(b) The increment refers to the relevant part (service) of interest in the specific situation, here roaming services. The LRIC cost standard encompasses solely the elements needed to provide this specific service;
(c) The LRIC+ cost standard allows for including joint and common costs which are relevant for other services;
(d) As network operators need to be able to recover joint and common costs to ensure long-term sustainability, joint and common costs are shared among the services that generate them and accordingly recovered by any price cap set above the estimated costs for those services;
(e) for mobile network operators, the minimum efficient scale shall be set at a market share not below 20 %;
(f) the relevant approach for asset depreciation shall be economic depreciation; and
(g) the technology choice of the modelled networks shall be forward looking, based on an IP core network, taking into account the various technologies likely to be used over the period of validity of the maximum rate.

ANNEX: LIST OF ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The following list is drawn up on a purely voluntary basis under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur. The rapporteur has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the report, until the adoption thereof in committee:

 

 

 

Entity and/or person

Dr. Paul Rübig, former MEP

RTR

Ventocom

Vodafone

MVNO Europe

BEREC

Deutsche Telekom

Liberty Global

1&1 Drillisch

Orange

European Commission

Council of the European Union - Portuguese presidency

Council of the European Union - Slovenian presidency

 

LETTER FROM THE COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AFFAIRS

D(2021) 19573

 

 

Mr Cristian-Silviu BUŞOI

Chair of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

ASP 11E102

Brussels

 

Subject: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (recast) - COM(2021)085 of 24.02.2021 - 2021/0045(COD)

 

Dear Chair,

 

The Committee on Legal Affairs has examined the proposal referred to above pursuant to Rule 110 on Recasting of Parliament's Rules of Procedure.

Paragraph 3 of that Rule reads as follows:

 

“If the committee responsible for legal affairs considers that the proposal does not entail any substantive changes other than those identified as such in the proposal, it shall inform the committee responsible for the subject matter thereof.

 

In such a case, over and above the conditions laid down in Rules 169 and 170, amendments shall be admissible within the committee responsible for the subject-matter only if they concern those parts of the proposal which contain changes.

 

However, amendments to parts of the proposal which remain unchanged may, by way of exception and on a case-by-case basis, be accepted by the Chair of the committee responsible for the subject matter if he or she considers that this is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text or because the amendments are inextricably linked to other admissible amendments. Such reasons must be stated in a written justification to the amendments.”

 

Following the opinion of the Consultative Working Party of the Legal Services of the Parliament, the Council and the Commission, which has examined the recast proposal, and in keeping with the recommendations of the rapporteur, the Committee on Legal Affairs considers that the proposal in question does not include any substantive changes other than those identified as such and that, as regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of the earlier act with those substantive amendments, the proposal contains a straightforward codification of the existing text, without any change in its substance.

The Committee notes, however, that the examination of the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union resulted in the Consultative Working Party’s establishing, by common accord, as follows.

1. The following should have been marked with the grey-shaded type generally used for identifying substantive amendments:

- in recital 54, the adding of the word ‘SMS’;

- in recital 63, the deletion of the words ‘in a secure, harmonised and timely manner’;

- in Article 3(8), the adding of the words ‘Within 6 months after the adoption of this Regulation’.

2. In Article 8(1), (3) and (4), the proposed replacement of the words ‘abolition of retail roaming surcharges’ with the words ‘provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices’ should have not been marked with the grey-shaded type used for identifying substantive amendments, but with simple formal adaptation markers.

 

In conclusion, at its meetings of 30 September 2021, the Committee on Legal Affairs, with 23 votes in favour, no votes against and 1 abstention[3], decided to recommend that the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, as the committee responsible, can proceed to examine the above proposal in accordance with Rule 110.

 

Yours sincerely,

Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA

 

 

Encl.: Opinion of the Consultative Working Party.

Annex

GROUPE  CONSULTATIF DES SERVICES JURIDIQUES

 

Brussels, 15 September 2021

 

OPINION

FOR THE ATTENTION OF  THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

  THE COUNCIL

  THE COMMISSION

 

 

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (recast)

COM(2021) 85 of 24.2.2021 - 2021/0045 (COD)

 

Having regard to the Inter-institutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts, and in particular to point 9 thereof, the Consultative Working Party consisting of the respective legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission met on 19 and 29 April 2021 for the purpose of examining the aforementioned proposal submitted by the Commission.

 

At those meetings[4], an examination of the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council recasting Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2012 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union resulted in the Consultative Working Party’s establishing, by common accord, as follows.

1. The following should have been marked with the grey-shaded type generally used for identifying substantive amendments:

- in recital 54, the adding of the word ‘SMS’;

- in recital 63, the deletion of the words ‘in a secure, harmonised and timely manner’;

- in Article 3(8), the adding of the words ‘Within 6 months after the adoption of this Regulation’.

2. In Article 8(1), (3) and (4), the proposed replacement of the words ‘abolition of retail roaming surcharges’ with the words ‘provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices’ should have not been marked with the grey-shaded type used for identifying substantive amendments, but with simple formal adaptation markers.

 

In consequence, examination of the proposal has enabled the Consultative Working Party to conclude, without dissent, that the proposal does not comprise any substantive amendments other than those identified as such. The Working Party also concluded, as regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of the earlier act with those substantive amendments, that the proposal contains a straightforward codification of the existing legal text, without any change in its substance.

 

F. DREXLER T. BLANCHET D. CALLEJA CRESPO

Jurisconsult Jurisconsult Director General

 

 

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE INTERNAL MARKET AND CONSUMER PROTECTION (14.7.2021)

for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (recast)

(COM(2021)0085 – C9‑0085/2021 – 2021/0045(COD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Róża Thun und Hohenstein

 

 

SHORT JUSTIFICATION

Abolition of roaming surcharges was a great success for European citizens. Since its introduction, almost 170 million citizens enjoyed prices without roaming surcharges and benefited of staying connected while travelling within the Union.

Therefore, the rapporteur welcomes the Commission proposal for a recast of the Roaming Regulation, which aims to prolong the current rules until 2032, and to introduce a higher level of consumer protection on transparency and quality of services. It goes without saying that the abolition of retail surcharges on roaming, in order to be sustainable and not lead to the increase of domestic prices for customers, has to be complemented by a further reduction of wholesale prices with the aim to foster competition within the internal market.

In the draft opinion, the rapporteur focuses on the following points:

1. Quality of service

The rapporteur supports the provisions aimed at ensuring that customers will benefit from a genuine ‘Roam-Like-At-Home’ experience, also in terms of quality of service. Unless not feasible technically, the roaming services should be provided to customers under the same conditions as if such services were consumed domestically. Therefore, the rapporteur believes that clear and comprehensible information regarding different elements of the quality of service while roaming should be included in customers’ contracts. Furthermore, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) should be mandated to prepare the guidelines to facilitate implementation of these provisions, including the effective ability for customers to enforce relevant contractual provisions.

2. Transparency obligations

It is of utmost importance to keep customers adequately informed concerning the use of different services while roaming. The rapporteur supports the general direction of the changes proposed by the Commission, while proposes further measures aimed at strengthening consumer protection.

First of all, cut-off limits are proposed to be offered by default by roaming providers, as the proposed provisions do not protect customers adequately.

Second, BEREC should be mandated, along preparing a database for numbers of value added services, to establish another database with means of access to emergency services. Thanks to this the roaming providers will have access to the full and regularly updated list of mandated emergency communications in all Member States.

Third, specific information regarding value added services and means of access to emergency services mandated in a visited Member State should be communicated to customers via a link in the welcome message, which customers receive upon entering a Member State and initiating roaming service.

Fourth, in order to ensure customer protection while travelling, e.g. by plane and marine vessels, and to protect from unexpected high bills from inadvertent connection with non-terrestrial networks with automatic handover, the rapporteur proposes to extend transparency obligations to those situations.

3. Review

The rapporteur is of the opinion that the scope of this Regulation should be open to future revisions whenever needed. Therefore, the rapporteur opposes the introduction of a Delegated Act as the basis for revising crucial elements of this Regulation. Revisions of crucial elements should be done through the ordinary legislative procedure, as it has been the case for the previous versions of the Regulation. In addition, the rapporteur believes that regular biennial reporting will allow monitoring the situation on the roaming market and prepare possible revisions of the existing rules. The rapporteur is also of the opinion that additional elements should be part of the biennial reporting obligation, such as those related to the effectiveness of newly introduced obligations in regard to the quality of service, whether customers can benefit from a genuine ‘Roam-Like-At-Home’ experience, and whether fair use policies will be needed in the future.

 

 

 

AMENDMENTS

The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection calls on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, as the committee responsible, to take into account the following amendments:

 

Amendment  1

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 10

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(10) Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council60 , Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council61 , Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council62 , Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council63 and Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council64 aimed to create an internal market for electronic communications within the Union while ensuring a high level of consumer protection through enhanced competition. Those Directives were repealed by Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council65 . Directive (EU) 2018/1972 aims to stimulate investment in and take-up of very high capacity networks in the EU as well as to set new spectrum rules for mobile connectivity and 5G. Directive (EU) 2018/1972 also ensures that all citizens have access to affordable communication, including the internet. It increases consumer protection and security for users and facilitates regulatory intervention.	(10) Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council60 , Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council61 , Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council62 , Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council63 and Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council64 aimed to create an internal market for electronic communications within the Union while ensuring a high level of consumer protection through enhanced competition. Except for Directive 2002/58/EC, those Directives were repealed by Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council65 . Directive (EU) 2018/1972 aims to stimulate investment in and take-up of very high capacity networks in the EU as well as to set new spectrum rules for mobile connectivity and 5G. Directive (EU) 2018/1972 also aims to contribute to the development of the internal market and promotes the interests of Union citizens. It ensures, inter alia, that all citizens have access to affordable communication, including the internet. It increases consumer protection and security for users and facilitates regulatory intervention.
__________________	__________________
60 Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 7).	60 Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 7).
61 Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 21).	61 Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 21).
62 Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 33).	62 Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 33).
63 Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 51).	63 Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive) (OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 51).
64 Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37).	64 Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37).
65 Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36).	65 Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36).

Amendment  2

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 19

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(19) In accordance with Article 109 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, all end-users should have access to emergency services, free of charge, through emergency communications to the most appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP). Member States are also required to ensure that access for end-users with disabilities to emergency services is available through emergency communications and is equivalent to that enjoyed by other end-users. It is for the Member States to determine the type of emergency communications that are technically feasible to ensure roaming customers access to emergency services. In order to ensure that roaming customers have access to emergency communications under the conditions laid down in Article 109 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, visited network operators should inform the roaming provider through the wholesale roaming agreement about what type of emergency communications are mandated under national measures in the visited Member State. In addition, wholesale roaming agreements should include information on the technical parameters for ensuring access to emergency services, including for roaming customers with disabilities, as well as for ensuring the transmission of caller location information to the most appropriate PSAP in the visited Member State. Such information should allow the roaming provider to identify and provide the emergency communication and the transmission of caller location free of charge.	(19) The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities) requires the parties thereto to take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access, on an equal basis with others, to information and communications technologies and systems. To that end, in accordance with Article 109 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, all end-users should have access to emergency services, free of charge, through emergency communications to the most appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP). Member States are also required to ensure that access for end-users with disabilities to emergency services is available through emergency communications and is equivalent to that enjoyed by other end-users. Pursuant to that Directive, emergency communications are a means of communication that includes not only voice communication services, but also text messages, video or other types of communications, for example real time text, total conversation and relay services. It is for the Member States to determine the type of emergency communications that are technically feasible to ensure roaming customers access to emergency services. In order to ensure that roaming customers have access to emergency communications under the conditions laid down in Article 109 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, visited network operators should inform the roaming provider through the wholesale roaming agreement about what type of emergency communications are mandated under national measures in the visited Member State. In addition, wholesale roaming agreements should include information on the technical parameters for ensuring access to emergency services, including for roaming customers with disabilities, as well as for ensuring the transmission of caller location information, including handset-derived information, to the most appropriate PSAP in the visited Member State. Such information should allow the roaming provider to identify and provide the emergency communication and the transmission of caller location free of charge.

Amendment  3

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 28

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(28) Roaming customers should, to the greatest extent possible, be able to use the retail services that they subscribe to and benefit from the same level of quality of service as at home, when roaming in the Union. To that end, roaming providers should take the necessary measures to ensure that regulated retail roaming services are provided under the same conditions as if such services were consumed domestically. In particular, the same quality of service should be offered to customers when roaming, if technically feasible.	(28) Roaming customers should be able to use the retail services that they subscribe to and benefit from the same level of quality of service as at home, when roaming in the Union. To that end, roaming providers should take the necessary measures to ensure that regulated retail roaming services are provided under the same conditions as if such services were consumed domestically. In particular, the same quality of service should be offered to customers when roaming, if technically feasible. The requirement to offer the same quality of service is without prejudice to the roaming providers’ ability to offer roaming customers higher quality of service as if such service was provided domestically. In addition, the roaming providers should ensure that the roaming customers are not put at a disadvantage compared to domestic customers using the same generation of mobile communication network and technologies.

Amendment  4

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 29

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(29) Roaming providers should be able to apply a ‘fair use policy’ to the consumption of regulated retail roaming services provided at the applicable domestic retail price. The ‘fair use policy’ is intended to prevent abusive or anomalous usage of regulated retail roaming services by roaming customers, such as the use of such services by roaming customers in a Member State other than that of their domestic provider for purposes other than periodic travel. Roaming providers should, in cases of force majeure caused by circumstances such as pandemics or natural catastrophes which involuntarily extend the period of temporary stay of the roaming customer in another Member State, consider extending the applicable fair use allowance for an appropriate period, upon a justified request by the roaming customer. Any fair use policy should enable the roaming provider’s customers to consume volumes of regulated retail roaming services at the applicable domestic retail price that are consistent with their respective tariff plans.	(29) Roaming providers should be able to apply a ‘fair use policy’ to the consumption of regulated retail roaming services provided at the applicable domestic retail price. The ‘fair use policy’ is limited to prevent abusive or anomalous usage of regulated retail roaming services by roaming customers, such as the use of such services by roaming customers in a Member State other than that of their domestic provider for purposes other than periodic travel. Roaming providers should, in cases of force majeure caused by circumstances such as pandemics or natural catastrophes which involuntarily extend the period of temporary stay of the roaming customer in another Member State, extend the applicable fair use allowance for an appropriate period. Any fair use policy should enable the roaming provider’s customers to consume volumes of regulated retail roaming services at the applicable domestic retail price that are consistent with their respective tariff plans.

Amendment  5

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 35

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(35) A contract which includes any type of regulated retail roaming service should specify the characteristics of that regulated retail roaming service, including the expected level of quality of service. The provider should make available information on relevant factors that can affect the quality of service, such as availability of certain technologies, coverage or variation due to external factors such as topography.	(35) A contract which includes any type of regulated retail roaming service should specify the characteristics of that regulated retail roaming service, including the expected level of quality of service. Those specifications should include clear and comprehensible information about the level of quality of service, including information regarding the transfer rates and available access technologies of each visited operator in each Member State. The provider should also make available information on other relevant factors that can affect further the quality of service, such as latency, coverage or variation due to external factors such as topography. The above-mentioned contract should also include clear and comprehensible information on the procedure for the filing of complaints available in cases where the quality of service does not correspond to the terms of  the contract. It should be possible for the customer to verify the estimated download and upload speed, latency and available data transfer technology. The roaming provider should handle any complaints in that regard in a timely and effective manner. Those specifications, information and complaint procedures should be provided in line with BEREC’s retail roaming guidelines.

Amendment  6

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 36

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(36) Roaming customers and home operators sometimes unwittingly incur large bills as a result of the lack of transparency on the numbers used for value added services across the Union and on the wholesale prices charged for value added services. Communications to certain numbers which are used for providing value added services, for example, premium-rate numbers, freephone numbers or shared cost numbers, are subject to particular pricing conditions at the national level. This Regulation should not apply to the part of the tariff that is charged for the provision of value added services but only to the tariffs for the connection to such services. Neverthelss, the RLAH principle might create an expectation for end-users that communications to such numbers while roaming should not incur any increased cost in comparison to the domestic situation. However, this is not always the case when roaming. End-users are confronted with increased costs, even when they call numbers that are free when called domestically. This could erode customers’ confidence in using their phones when roaming and could result in bill shocks, thus having a negative impact on a genuine RLAH experience. This is mainly caused, at retail level by the insufficient level of transparency on the higher charges which can be incurred because of communications to value added services numbers. Therefore measures should be introduced to increase the transparency on the conditions for communications to value added services numbers. To that end, roaming customers should be informed in their contract and notified and warned, in a timely manner and free of charge, that communications to value added services numbers in roaming can entail additional charges.	(36) Roaming customers and home operators sometimes unwittingly incur large bills as a result of the lack of transparency on the numbers used for value added services across the Union and on the wholesale prices charged for value added services. Communications to certain numbers which are used for providing value added services, for example, premium-rate numbers, freephone numbers or shared cost numbers, are subject to particular pricing conditions at the national level. This Regulation should not apply to the part of the tariff that is charged for the provision of value added services but only to the tariffs for the connection to such services. Neverthelss, the RLAH principle might create an expectation for end-users that communications to such numbers while roaming should not incur any increased cost in comparison to the domestic situation. However, this is not always the case when roaming. End-users are confronted with increased costs, even when they call numbers that are free when called domestically. This could erode customers’ confidence in using their phones when roaming and could result in bill shocks, thus having a negative impact on a genuine RLAH experience. This is mainly caused, at retail level by the insufficient level of transparency on the higher charges which can be incurred because of communications to value added services numbers. Therefore measures should be introduced to protect customers from excessively high bills and increase the transparency on the conditions for communications to value added services numbers. To that end, roaming customers should be informed in their contract and notified and warned upfront, in a timely, user-friendly manner and free of charge, that communications to value added services numbers in roaming can entail additional charges. The roaming customer should receive information about those charges via a publicly available and accessible web page.

Amendment  7

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 43

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(43) In order to improve the transparency of retail prices for roaming services and to help roaming customers make decisions on the use of their mobile devices while abroad, providers of mobile communication services should supply their roaming customers with information free of charge on the roaming charges applicable to them when using roaming services in a visited Member State. Since certain customer groups might be well informed about roaming charges, roaming providers should provide a possibility to easily opt-out from this automatic message service. In addition, roaming customers should be provided with a text message including a link to a web page giving detailed information about the types of services (calls and SMS) that may be subject to increased costs. Moreover, providers should actively give their customers, provided that the latter are located in the Union, on request and free of charge, additional information on the per-minute, per-SMS or per-megabyte data charges (including VAT) for the making or receiving of voice calls and also for the sending and receiving of SMS, MMS and other data communication services in the visited Member State.	(43) In order to improve the transparency of retail prices for roaming services and to help roaming customers make decisions on the use of their mobile devices while abroad, providers of mobile communication services should supply their roaming customers with information free of charge on the roaming charges applicable to them when using roaming services in a visited Member State. In order to ensure a high level of protection for roaming customers, that information should include information about any additional charges when using non-terrestrial networks on board aircrafts or marine vessels. Roaming providers should provide a possibility for roaming customers to easily opt-out from this automatic message service. In addition, roaming customers should be provided free of charge with a text message including a link to a web page giving detailed information about the types of services that may be subject to increased costs as well as the means of access to emergency services in the visited Member State, free of charge. Moreover, providers should actively give their customers, provided that the latter are located in the Union, on request and free of charge, additional information on the per-minute, per-text message or per-megabyte data charges (including VAT) for the making or receiving of voice calls and also for the sending and receiving of text messages and data communication services in the visited Member State.

Justification

This amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text and in order to keep customers adequately informed.

Amendment  8

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 44

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(44) This Regulation should in relation to regulated retail roaming services lay down specific transparency requirements aligned with the specific tariff and volume conditions applicable following the abolition of the retail roaming surcharges . In particular, provision should be made for roaming customers to be notified, in a timely manner and free of charge, of the applicable fair use policy, when the applicable fair use volume of regulated voice, SMS or data roaming services is fully consumed, of any surcharge, and of accumulated consumption of regulated data roaming services.	(44) This Regulation should in relation to regulated retail roaming services lay down specific transparency requirements aligned with the specific tariff and volume conditions applicable following the abolition of the retail roaming surcharges .In particular, provision should be made for roaming customers to be notified, in a timely and user-friendly manner and free of charge, of the applicable fair use policy, when the applicable fair use volume of regulated voice, text message or data roaming services is fully consumed, of any surcharge, of accumulated consumption of regulated data roaming services, and of using non-terrestrial networks.

Justification

This amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text and in order to keep customers adequately informed.

Amendment  9

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 45

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(45) Customers living in border regions should not receive unnecessarily high bills due to inadvertent roaming. Roaming providers should therefore take reasonable steps to protect customers against incurring roaming charges while they are located in their Member State. This should include adequate information measures in order to empower customers to actively prevent such instances of inadvertent roaming. National regulatory authorities should be alert to situations in which customers face problems with paying roaming charges while they are still located in their Member State and should take appropriate steps to mitigate the problem.	(45) Customers living in border regions should not receive unnecessarily high bills due to inadvertent roaming, including for the use of non-terrestrial networks on board aircraft or marine vessels. Roaming providers should therefore take necessary measures, in order to minimise the risk of inadvertent roaming and to protect customers against incurring roaming charges while they are located in their Member State, in particular by informing them in a clear and comprehensible manner . Such measures should include for example cut-off limits as well as opt-in or opt-out mechanisms to roam in a network outside of the Union, if technically feasible. This should include adequate information measures in order to empower customers to actively prevent such instances of inadvertent roaming. National regulatory authorities should be alert to situations in which customers face problems with paying roaming charges while they are still located in their Member State and should take appropriate steps to mitigate the problem.

Justification

This amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text and in order to further protect customers from inadvertent connections while travelling by plane and marine vessels.

Amendment  10

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 47

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(47) In addition, in order to avoid bill shocks, roaming providers should define one or more maximum financial and/or volume limits for their outstanding charges for data roaming services, expressed in the currency in which the roaming customer is billed, and which they should offer to all their roaming customers, free of charge, with an appropriate notification, in a media format that can be consulted again subsequently, when that limit is being approached. Upon reaching that maximum limit, customers should no longer receive or be charged for those services unless they specifically request continued provision of those services in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the notification. In such a case, they should receive free confirmation, in a media format that can be consulted again subsequently. Roaming customers should be given the opportunity to opt for any of those maximum financial or volume limits within a reasonable period or to choose not to have such a limit. Unless customers state otherwise, they should be put on a default limit system.	(47) In addition, in order to avoid bill shocks, roaming providers should define one or more maximum financial and/or volume limits for their outstanding charges for data roaming services, expressed in the currency in which the roaming customer is billed, and which they should offer to all their roaming customers, free of charge, with an appropriate notification, unless the roaming customer opts out of the measure, in a media format that can be consulted again subsequently, when that limit is being approached. Upon reaching that maximum limit, customers should no longer receive or be charged for those services unless they specifically request continued provision of those services in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the notification. In such a case, they should receive free confirmation, in a media format that can be consulted again subsequently. Roaming customers should be given the opportunity to opt out of those maximum financial or volume limits within a reasonable period or to choose not to have such a limit. Unless customers state otherwise, they should be put on a default limit system.

Justification

This amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text.

Amendment  11

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 49 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(49a) Price differences continue to prevail, both for fixed and mobile communications, between domestic voice and text message communications and those terminating in another Member State. Those price differences continue to affect more vulnerable customer groups and to pose barriers to seamless communication within the Union. Any significant retail price differences between electronic communications services terminating in the same Member State and those terminating in another Member State should therefore be justified by reference to objective criteria.

Justification

This amendment is needed to complement the new proposed Article 5a.

Amendment  12

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 50

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(50) There are considerable disparities between regulated roaming tariffs within the Union and roaming tariffs incurred by customers when they are travelling outside the Union, which are significantly higher than prices within the Union, where roaming surcharges are only exceptionally applied following the abolition of retail roaming charges . Due to the absence of a consistent approach to transparency and safeguard measures concerning roaming outside the Union, consumers are not confident about their rights and are therefore often deterred from using mobile services while abroad. Transparent information provided to consumers could not only assist them in the decision as to how to use their mobile devices while travelling abroad (both within and outside the Union), but could also assist them in the choice between roaming providers. It is therefore necessary to address the problem of the lack of transparency and consumer protection by applying certain transparency and safeguard measures also to roaming services provided outside the Union. Those measures should facilitate competition and improve the functioning of the internal market.	(50) There are considerable disparities between regulated roaming tariffs within the Union and roaming tariffs incurred by customers when they are travelling outside the Union, which are significantly higher than prices within the Union, where roaming surcharges are only exceptionally applied following the abolition of retail roaming charges. Union citizens and businesses in external border regions would benefit greatly from roaming provisions with neighbouring countries similar to those in the Union, which should lead to lowering roaming fees when using mobile connections in third countries. Due to the absence of a consistent approach to transparency and safeguard measures concerning roaming outside the Union, consumers are not confident about their rights and are therefore often deterred from using mobile services while abroad. Transparent information provided to consumers could not only assist them in the decision as to how to use their mobile devices while travelling abroad (both within and outside the Union), but could also assist them in the choice between roaming providers. It is therefore necessary to address the problem of the lack of transparency and consumer protection by applying certain transparency and safeguard measures also to roaming services provided outside the Union. It is also necessary to encourage bilateral agreements between operators in the Union and those in third countries, as well as to include RLAH provisions in future international agreements with third countries, in particular those directly bordering the Union. Those measures should facilitate competition and improve the functioning of the internal market.

Justification

Union citizens still face very high roaming fees when using mobile connections in third countries. It is important to address this issue and introduce measures that can facilitate transparency and agreements to reduce roaming charges with third countries and include the RLAH provision in future agreements.

Amendment  13

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 59

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(59) It is necessary to monitor and to review regularly the functioning of wholesale roaming markets and their interrelationship with the retail roaming markets, taking into account competitive and technological developments and traffic flows. The Commission should submit two reports to the European Parliament and to the Council. In its biennial reports, the Commission should, in particular, assess whether RLAH has any impact on the evolution of tariff plans available on the retail markets. That should include, on the one hand, an assessment of any emergence of tariff plans that include only domestic services and that exclude retail roaming services altogether, thus undermining the very objective of RLAH and, on the other, an assessment of any reduction in the availability of flat-rate tariff plans, which could also represent a loss for consumers and undermine the objectives of the digital single market. The Commission’s reports should, in particular, analyse the extent to which exceptional retail roaming surcharges have been authorised by national regulatory authorities, the ability of home network operators to sustain their domestic charging models and the ability of visited network operators to recover the efficiently incurred costs of providing regulated wholesale roaming services. In addition, the Commission’s reports should assess how, at wholesale level, access to the different network technologies and generations is ensured; the level of usage of trading platforms and similar instruments to trade traffic at wholesale level; the evolution of the machine-to-machine roaming; the persisting problems at retail level in relation to value added services and the application of the measures on emergency communications . In order to enable such reporting with a view to assessing how the roaming markets adapt to RLAH rules, sufficient data should be gathered on the functioning of those markets after the implementation of those rules.	(59) It is necessary to monitor and to review regularly the functioning of wholesale roaming markets and their interrelationship with the retail roaming markets, taking into account competitive and technological developments and traffic flows. The Commission should submit biennial reports to the European Parliament and to the Council. The first such report should be submitted by 30 June 2025. In its biennial reports, the Commission should, in particular, assess whether RLAH has any impact on the evolution of tariff plans available on the retail markets. That should include, on the one hand, an assessment of any emergence of tariff plans that include only domestic services and that exclude retail roaming services altogether, thus undermining the very objective of RLAH and, on the other, an assessment of any reduction in the availability of flat-rate tariff plans, which could also represent a loss for consumers and undermine the objectives of the digital single market. The Commission’s reports should, in particular, analyse the extent to which exceptional retail roaming surcharges have been authorised by national regulatory authorities, the ability of home network operators to sustain their domestic charging models and the ability of visited network operators to recover the efficiently incurred costs of providing regulated wholesale roaming services. In addition, the Commission’s biennial reports should assess how, at wholesale level, access to the different network technologies and generations is ensured; the level of usage of trading platforms and similar instruments to trade traffic at wholesale level; the evolution of the machine-to-machine roaming; the persisting problems at retail level in relation to value added services, inadvertent roaming; the application of the measures on emergency communications; the effectiveness of the quality of service obligations laid down in this Regulation; and the extent to which customers are properly informed in their contracts about those obligations and can benefit from a genuine RLAH experience. In order to enable such reporting with a view to assessing how the roaming markets adapt to RLAH rules, sufficient data should be gathered on the functioning of those markets after the implementation of those rules.

Justification

This amendment is made to ensure that biennial reports are reinstated to monitor the situation on the roaming market as well as the possibility to make a legislative proposal to review the entirety of the Regulation, where justified. In addition, the new elements added are required for the purpose of the recast Regulation to give roaming customers a genuine RLAH experience.

Amendment  14

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 63

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(63) Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to provide for a common approach for ensuring that users of public mobile communications networks, when travelling within the Union, do not pay excessive prices for Union-wide roaming services in comparison with competitive national prices, while increasing transparency and ensuring sustainability of the provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices as well as a genuine RLAH experience in terms of quality of service and access to emergency services while roaming, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with  the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.	(63) Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to provide for a common approach for ensuring that users of public mobile communications networks, when travelling within the Union, and while using non-terrestrial networks on board aircrafts or marine vessels, do not pay excessive prices for Union-wide roaming services in comparison with competitive national prices, while increasing transparency and consumer protection, as well as ensuring sustainability of the provision of retail roaming services at domestic prices as well as a genuine RLAH experience in terms of quality of service and access to emergency services while roaming, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

Amendment  15

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	Article 5a
	Abolition of retail surcharges for regulated intra-Union communications
	1.  Providers of publicly available electronic communication services shall not apply tariffs for intra-Union fixed and mobile communications services terminating in another Member State that are different from tariffs for services terminating in the same Member State, unless the provider demonstrates the existence of direct costs that are objectively justified.
	2.  By... [six months after the entry into force of this Regulation], BEREC shall provide guidelines on the recovery of the objectively justified direct costs referred to in paragraph 1.
	3.  By... [one year after the entry into force of this Regulation], and biennially thereafter, the Commission shall, after consulting BEREC, provide a report on the application of the requirement laid down in paragraph 1, including an assessment of the evolution of intra-Union communication tariffs.

Justification

This provision helps to achieve a digital single market in the telecom sector and provides a simple and fair solution to expensive tariffs for international calls without having to regulate prices. Seeking to abolish any type of discriminatory practice, whether on access to services or prices for cross-border services, is very important for the creation of a true Digital Single Market for consumers.

Amendment  16

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 3 – point c

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(c) the quality of service that can reasonably be expected when roaming in the Union.	(c) clear and comprehensible information on the quality of service when roaming in the Union, including the estimated maximum and advertised download and upload speed of the data access services, disaggregated by Member State and by provider, in accordance with the BEREC guidelines referred to in paragraph 5a.

Amendment  17

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 4 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	4a. Roaming providers shall ensure that a contract includes clear information on the procedure for the filing of complaints where the quality of service breaches the terms of the contract.

Amendment  18

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 5 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	5a. For the purpose of ensuring the consistent application of this Article, BEREC shall, by ... [6 months after the entry into force of this Regulation], , after consulting stakeholders and in close cooperation with the Commission, update its retail roaming guidelines, in particular, in regard to the implementation of and information about the quality of service referred to in paragraphs 3(c) and 4a of this Article, the enforcement of relevant contractual provisions by customers, and the transparency measures referred to in Articles 14, 15 and 16.

Justification

This amendment is necessary to ensure the text internal logic and coherence.

Amendment  19

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Roaming providers shall, except when the roaming customer has notified the roaming provider that he does not require this service, provide the customer, automatically by means of a Message Service, without undue delay and free of charge, when the roaming customer enters a Member State other than that of his domestic provider, with information on the potential risk of increased charges due to the use of value added services including a link to a dedicated webpage providing information about the types of services that may be subject to increased costs and, if available, information on value added services number ranges.	Roaming providers shall, except when the roaming customers have notified the roaming provider that they do not require this service, provide the customer, automatically by means of a Message Service, without undue delay and free of charge, when the roaming customers enter a Member State other than that of their domestic provider, with information on the potential risk of increased charges due to the use of value added services in the visited Member State, including access, free of charge, to a link to a dedicated webpage providing information about the types of services that may be subject to increased costs and, when available, information on value added services number ranges and possible applicable charges.

Amendment  20

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 7

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
The first, second, fifth and sixth subparagraphs, with the exception of the reference to the fair use policy and the surcharge applied in accordance with Article 7, shall also apply to voice and SMS roaming services used by roaming customers travelling outside the Union and provided by a roaming provider.	The first, second, fifth and sixth subparagraphs, with the exception of the reference to the fair use policy and the surcharge applied in accordance with Article 7, shall also apply to voice and text message roaming services used by roaming customers and provided by a roaming provider in a third country and for using non-terrestrial networks.

Justification

This amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text and in order to keep customers adequately informed.

Amendment  21

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
2. In addition to the information provided for in paragraph 1, customers shall have the right to request and receive, free of charge, and irrespective of their location within the Union, more detailed personalised pricing information on the roaming charges that apply in the visited network to voice calls and SMS, and information on the transparency measures applicable by virtue of this Regulation, by means of a mobile voice call or by SMS. Such a request shall be to a free-of-charge number designated for this purpose by the roaming provider. Obligations provided for in paragraph 1 shall not apply to devices which do not support SMS functionality.	2. In addition to the information provided for in paragraph 1, customers shall have the right to request and receive, free of charge, and irrespective of their location within the Union, more detailed personalised pricing information on the roaming charges that apply in the visited network to voice calls and text messages, and information on the transparency measures applicable by virtue of this Regulation, by means of a mobile voice call or by text message. Such a request shall be to a free-of-charge number designated for this purpose by the roaming provider. Obligations provided for in paragraph 1 shall not apply to devices which do not support text message functionality.

Justification

This amendment is necessary in order to ensure the text internal logic and coherence as well as include other communication modes beside the SMS.

Amendment  22

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 5

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
5. Roaming providers shall make available information to their customers on how to avoid inadvertent roaming in border regions. Roaming providers shall take reasonable steps to protect their customers from paying roaming charges for inadvertently accessed roaming services while situated in their home Member State.	5. Roaming providers shall make available information to their customers on how to avoid inadvertent roaming in border regions and while using non-terrestrial networks. Roaming providers shall take the necessary measures to protect their customers from paying roaming charges for inadvertently accessed roaming services while situated in their home Member State.

Justification

This amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text and in order to keep customers adequately informed.

Amendment  23

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
The information shall be delivered to the roaming customer’s mobile device, for example by an SMS message, an e-mail or a pop-up window on the mobile device, every time the roaming customer enters a Member State other than that of his domestic provider and initiates for the first time a data roaming service in that particular Member State. It shall be provided free of charge at the moment the roaming customer initiates a regulated data roaming service, by an appropriate means adapted to facilitate its receipt and easy comprehension.	The information shall be delivered directly to the roaming customer’s mobile device, for example by means of a text message or a pop-up window on the mobile device, every time the roaming customer enters a Member State other than that of his domestic provider and initiates for the first time a data roaming service in that particular Member State. It shall be provided free of charge at the moment the roaming customer initiates a regulated data roaming service, by an appropriate means adapted to facilitate its receipt and easy comprehension.

Justification

This amendment is necessary in order to ensure the text internal logic and coherence as well as include other communication modes beside the SMS.

Amendment  24

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
4. Each roaming provider shall grant to all their roaming customers the opportunity to opt deliberately and free of charge for a facility which provides in a timely manner information on the accumulated consumption expressed in volume or in the currency in which the roaming customer is billed for regulated data roaming services and which guarantees that, without the customer’s explicit consent, the accumulated expenditure for regulated data roaming services over a specified period of use, excluding MMS billed on a per-unit basis, does not exceed a specified financial limit.	4. Each roaming provider shall grant to all their roaming customers free of charge access to a facility which provides in a timely manner information on the accumulated consumption expressed in volume or in the currency in which the roaming customer is billed for regulated data roaming services and which guarantees that, without the customer’s explicit consent, the accumulated expenditure for regulated data roaming services over a specified period of use, excluding MMS billed on a per-unit basis, does not exceed a specified financial limit. Customers may notify the roaming provider that they do not require access to such a facility.

Justification

This amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text as well as to protect roaming customers from extremely high bills.

Amendment  25

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 6

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Each roaming provider shall also ensure that an appropriate notification is sent to the roaming customer’s mobile device, for example by an SMS message, an e-mail or a pop-up window on the computer, when the data roaming services have reached 80% of the agreed financial or volume limit. Each customer shall have the right to require the roaming provider to stop sending such notifications and shall have the right, at any time and free of charge, to require the provider to provide the service again.	Each roaming provider shall also ensure that an appropriate notification is sent directly to the roaming customer’s mobile device, for example by means of a text message or a pop-up window on the computer, when the data roaming services have reached 80% of the agreed financial or volume limit. Each customer shall have the right to require the roaming provider to stop sending such notifications and shall have the right, at any time and free of charge, to require the provider to provide the service again.

Justification

This amendment is necessary in order to ensure the text internal logic and coherence as well as include other communication modes beside the SMS.

Amendment  26

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 8

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Whenever a roaming customer requests to opt for or to remove a financial or volume limit facility, the change shall be made within one working day of receipt of the request, shall be free of charge, and shall not entail conditions or restrictions pertaining to other elements of the subscription.	Whenever a roaming customer requests to remove or opt for a financial or volume limit facility, the change shall be made within one working day of receipt of the request, shall be free of charge, and shall not entail conditions or restrictions pertaining to other elements of the subscription.

Justification

This amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text.

Amendment  27

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 6

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
6. Roaming providers shall take reasonable steps to protect their customers from paying roaming charges for inadvertently accessed roaming services while situated in their home Member State. This shall include informing customers on how to avoid inadvertent roaming in border regions.	6. Roaming providers shall take the necessary measures to effectively protect their customers from paying roaming charges for inadvertently accessed roaming services while situated in their home Member State. This shall include informing customers on how to effectively avoid inadvertent roaming in border regions.

 

Amendment  28

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
This Article, with the exception of paragraph 6, the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3, and subject to the second and third subparagraphs of this paragraph, shall also apply to data roaming services used by roaming customers travelling outside the Union and provided by a roaming provider.	This Article, with the exception of paragraph 6, the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3, and subject to the second and third subparagraphs of this paragraph, shall also apply to data roaming services used by roaming customers travelling outside the Union and provided by a roaming provider and to using non-terrestrial networks.

Justification

This amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text and in order to keep customers adequately informed.

Amendment  29

Proposal for a regulation

Article 16 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
An automatic message from the roaming provider shall inform the roaming customer that the latter may access emergency services free of charge by calling the single European emergency number ‘112’ and by alternative means of access to emergency services through emergency communications mandated in the visited Member State. The information shall be delivered to the roaming customer’s mobile device by an SMS message, every time the roaming customer enters a Member State other than that of his domestic provider. It shall be provided free of charge at the moment the roaming customer initiates a roaming service, by an appropriate means adapted to facilitate its receipt and easy comprehension.	An automatic message from the roaming provider shall inform the roaming customer that the latter may access emergency services free of charge by contacting the single European emergency number ‘112’ and by including a link to a dedicated, free of charge, and fully accessible to  people with disabilities webpage providing information about alternative means of access to emergency services through emergency communications mandated in the visited Member State. The information shall be delivered directly to the roaming customer’s mobile device by a text message, every time the roaming customer enters a Member State other than that of their domestic provider. It shall be provided free of charge by an appropriate means adapted to facilitate its receipt and easy comprehension. Roaming providers should  include in that message an accessible link to the mobile application through which public warnings are transmitted in the visited Member State, if applicable.

Amendment  30

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
The Commission shall , after consulting BEREC, submit two reports to the European Parliament and to the Council. Where necessary, after submitting each report, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act pursuant to Article 22 amending the maximum wholesale charges for regulated roaming services laid down in this Regulation. The first such report shall be submitted by 30 June 2025 and the second by 30 June 2029 .	The Commission shall, after consulting BEREC, submit biennial reports to the European Parliament and to the Council accompanied, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal to amend this Regulation, including a proposal to amend the maximum wholesale charges for regulated roaming services laid down in this Regulation. The first such report shall be submitted by 30 June 2025.

Amendment  31

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point a a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(aa) the effectiveness of technologies and measures that have the purpose of minimising the risk of inadvertent roaming, taking into account the problems for consumers living in border regions;

Amendment  32

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point i

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(i) the impact of the application of fair use policies by operators in accordance with Article 8, including the identification of any inconsistencies in the application and implementation of such fair use policies;	(i) the impact of the application of fair use policies by operators in accordance with Article 8, including the identification of any inconsistencies in the application and implementation of such fair use policies and the extent to which those policies are needed in the future;

Justification

This amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text.

Amendment  33

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point i a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(ia) the effectiveness of the quality of service obligations introduced in this Regulation and to which extent customers are properly informed and can benefit from a genuine RLAH experience;

Amendment  34

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point j

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(j) the extent to which roaming customers and operators face problems in relation to value added services;	(j) the extent to which roaming customers and operators face problems in relation to value added services and how those problems can be resolved to protect consumers and strengthen the internal market;

Amendment  35

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point ja

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(ja) the effectiveness of this Regulation in ensuring equal access to electronic communications for persons with disabilities when travelling within the EEA;

Amendment  36

Proposal for a regulation

Article 26 – paragraph 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	1a. This Regulation shall apply from ... [the date of entry into force of this Regulation], save that Article 14(1), third subparagraph, and Article 16, second paragraph, shall apply from 1 January 2023 in accordance with the deadline for establishing the database referred to in Article 17.

ANNEX: LIST OF ENTITIES OR PERSONS
FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The following list is drawn up on a purely voluntary basis under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur. The rapporteur has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the opinion, until the adoption thereof in committee:

Person	Entity
	BEREC (Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications)
	BEUC (Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs)
	Cicada Exchange
	EDF (European Disability Forum)
	ETNO (European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association)
	European Commission
	European Economic and Social Committee
	European Emergency Number Association - EENA112
	Giga Europe
	Liberty Global
	MVNO Europe
	Orange
	Portuguese Presidency of the Council
	Telia
	United Internet

 

 

 

 

 

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Title	Roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (recast)
References	COM(2021)0085 – C9-0085/2021 – 2021/0045(COD)
Committee responsible  Date announced in plenary	ITRE 24.3.2021
Opinion by  Date announced in plenary	IMCO 24.3.2021
Associated committees - date announced in plenary	10.6.2021
Rapporteur for the opinion  Date appointed	Róża Thun und Hohenstein 19.4.2021
Discussed in committee	26.5.2021	22.6.2021
Date adopted	12.7.2021
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	45 0 0
Members present for the final vote	Alex Agius Saliba, Andrus Ansip, Pablo Arias Echeverría, Alessandra Basso, Brando Benifei, Adam Bielan, Hynek Blaško, Biljana Borzan, Vlad-Marius Botoş, Markus Buchheit, Andrea Caroppo, Anna Cavazzini, Dita Charanzová, Deirdre Clune, David Cormand, Carlo Fidanza, Evelyne Gebhardt, Alexandra Geese, Sandro Gozi, Maria Grapini, Svenja Hahn, Virginie Joron, Eugen Jurzyca, Marcel Kolaja, Kateřina Konečná, Andrey Kovatchev, Jean-Lin Lacapelle, Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques, Morten Løkkegaard, Antonius Manders, Leszek Miller, Anne-Sophie Pelletier, Miroslav Radačovský, Christel Schaldemose, Andreas Schwab, Tomislav Sokol, Róża Thun und Hohenstein, Marco Zullo
Substitutes present for the final vote	Clara Aguilera, Maria da Graça Carvalho, Christian Doleschal, Claude Gruffat, Jiří Pospíšil, Kosma Złotowski

 

 

 

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

45	+
ECR	Adam Bielan, Carlo Fidanza, Eugen Jurzyca, Kosma Złotowski
ID	Alessandra Basso, Hynek Blaško, Markus Buchheit, Virginie Joron, Jean-Lin Lacapelle
NI	Miroslav Radačovský
PPE	Pablo Arias Echeverría, Andrea Caroppo, Maria da Graça Carvalho, Deirdre Clune, Christian Doleschal, Andrey Kovatchev, Antonius Manders, Jiří Pospíšil, Andreas Schwab, Tomislav Sokol, Ivan Štefanec, Róża Thun und Hohenstein
Renew	Andrus Ansip, Vlad-Marius Botoş, Dita Charanzová, Sandro Gozi, Svenja Hahn, Morten Løkkegaard, Marco Zullo
S&D	Alex Agius Saliba, Clara Aguilera, Brando Benifei, Biljana Borzan, Evelyne Gebhardt, Maria Grapini, Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques, Leszek Miller, Christel Schaldemose
The Left	Kateřina Konečná, Anne-Sophie Pelletier
Verts/ALE	Anna Cavazzini, David Cormand, Alexandra Geese, Claude Gruffat, Marcel Kolaja

 

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

 

 

 

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Title	Roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (recast)
References	COM(2021)0085 – C9-0085/2021 – 2021/0045(COD)
Date submitted to Parliament	25.2.2021
Committee responsible  Date announced in plenary	ITRE 24.3.2021
Committees asked for opinions  Date announced in plenary	IMCO 24.3.2021
Associated committees  Date announced in plenary	IMCO 10.6.2021
Rapporteurs  Date appointed	Angelika Winzig 19.3.2021
Discussed in committee	18.3.2021	17.6.2021
Date adopted	14.10.2021
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	67 0 7
Members present for the final vote	François Alfonsi, Nicola Beer, François-Xavier Bellamy, Hildegard Bentele, Tom Berendsen, Vasile Blaga, Michael Bloss, Paolo Borchia, Markus Buchheit, Cristian-Silviu Buşoi, Jerzy Buzek, Carlo Calenda, Maria da Graça Carvalho, Ignazio Corrao, Ciarán Cuffe, Josianne Cutajar, Nicola Danti, Pilar del Castillo Vera, Christian Ehler, Valter Flego, Niels Fuglsang, Lina Gálvez Muñoz, Claudia Gamon, Jens Geier, Nicolás González Casares, Bart Groothuis, Christophe Grudler, András Gyürk, Henrike Hahn, Robert Hajšel, Ivo Hristov, Ivars Ijabs, Romana Jerković, Eva Kaili, Izabela-Helena Kloc, Andrius Kubilius, Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, Thierry Mariani, Marisa Matias, Eva Maydell, Joëlle Mélin, Iskra Mihaylova, Dan Nica, Angelika Niebler, Ville Niinistö, Aldo Patriciello, Mauri Pekkarinen, Tsvetelina Penkova, Morten Petersen, Markus Pieper, Clara Ponsatí Obiols, Manuela Ripa, Jérôme Rivière, Robert Roos, Sara Skyttedal, Maria Spyraki, Jessica Stegrud, Beata Szydło, Riho Terras, Grzegorz Tobiszowski, Patrizia Toia, Evžen Tošenovský, Marie Toussaint, Isabella Tovaglieri, Viktor Uspaskich, Henna Virkkunen, Pernille Weiss, Carlos Zorrinho
Substitutes present for the final vote	Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Cornelia Ernst, Elena Lizzi, Jutta Paulus, Ernő Schaller-Baross, Angelika Winzig
Date tabled	15.10.2021

 

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

67	+
ECR	Izabela-Helena Kloc, Robert Roos, Jessica Stegrud, Beata Szydło, Grzegorz Tobiszowski, Evžen Tošenovský
ID	Markus Buchheit
NI	András Gyürk, Clara Ponsatí Obiols, Ernő Schaller-Baross, Viktor Uspaskich
PPE	François-Xavier Bellamy, Hildegard Bentele, Tom Berendsen, Vasile Blaga, Cristian-Silviu Buşoi, Jerzy Buzek, Maria da Graça Carvalho, Pilar del Castillo Vera, Christian Ehler, Andrius Kubilius, Eva Maydell, Angelika Niebler, Markus Pieper, Sara Skyttedal, Maria Spyraki, Riho Terras, Henna Virkkunen, Pernille Weiss, Angelika Winzig
Renew	Nicola Beer, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Nicola Danti, Valter Flego, Claudia Gamon, Bart Groothuis, Christophe Grudler, Ivars Ijabs, Iskra Mihaylova, Mauri Pekkarinen, Morten Petersen
S&D	Carlo Calenda, Josianne Cutajar, Niels Fuglsang, Lina Gálvez Muñoz, Jens Geier, Nicolás González Casares, Robert Hajšel, Ivo Hristov, Romana Jerković, Eva Kaili, Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, Dan Nica, Tsvetelina Penkova, Patrizia Toia, Carlos Zorrinho
The Left	Cornelia Ernst, Marisa Matias
Verts/ALE	François Alfonsi, Michael Bloss, Ignazio Corrao, Ciarán Cuffe, Henrike Hahn, Ville Niinistö, Jutta Paulus, Manuela Ripa, Marie Toussaint

 

0	-

 

7	0
ID	Paolo Borchia, Elena Lizzi, Thierry Mariani, Joëlle Mélin, Jérôme Rivière, Isabella Tovaglieri
PPE	Aldo Patriciello

 

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

 

 

• [1] OJ C ...
• [2] OJ C 77, 28.3.2002, p. 1.
• [3] The following were present for the final vote: Adrián Vázquez Lázara (Chair), Sergey Lagodinsky (Vice-Chair), Marion Walsmann (Vice-Chair), Ibán García del Blanco (Vice-Chair), Raffaele Stancanelli (Vice-Chair), Pascal Arimont, Gunnar Beck, Isabel Benjumea Benjumea (for Javier Zarzalejos pursuant to Rule 209(7)), Patrick Breyer, Daniel Buda, Geoffroy Didier, Pascal Durand, Jean-Paul Garraud, Mislav Kolakušić, Gilles Lebreton, Emmanuel Maurel, Karen Melchior, Nacho Sánchez Amor, Stéphane Séjourné, Jiří Pospíšil, Marcos Ros Sempere, Axel Voss, Lara Wolters, Tiemo Wölken, Kosma Złotowski.
   
• [4] The Consultative Working Party worked on the basis of the English language version of the proposal, being the master-copy language version of the text under discussion.