Calling from one country to another in the European Union will cost a maximum of 19 cents (plus VAT). This was decided by the EU Parliament on 14 November by definitively approving the directive establishing the new European Code for electronic communications, an appendix to the roaming legislation which came into force last year.
This is the confirmation of the provisional agreement reached in June with the Council, passed with 584 votes in favour, 42 votes against and 50 abstentions, and on the body of European regulators of electronic communications (BEREC) which received 590 votes in favour, 63 votes against and 23 abstentions.
The new rules, which update those in force since 2003, will have to receive the Council's approval - the vote is set for December - and will in force since 15 May 2019. Member States will have two years to adopt national legislation implementing the directive. "Anyone will feel free to call home wherever they are in the European Union", announced Dita Charanzová, MEP from the Czech Republic who collaborated in drafting the text.
EUROPEAN CALLS: ECCO THE COSTS
According to what has been established, calls made between European Union countries will cost a maximum of 19 cents per minute. The figure applies to both landline and mobile calls. The directive also sets a threshold for text messages, which must cost a maximum of 6 cents.
Be careful though, because these figures will have to be applied the VAT. As far as we are concerned, therefore, a 19% surcharge will have to be added to the 6 or 22 cents: therefore we will pay about 23 cents for calls and 7,3 for text messages.
Many will wonder: what is the difference compared to what was established in 2017 for roaming? Roaming concerns the possibility of traveling around Europe using the tariff plan agreed with our operator. With the implementation approved yesterday, however, we will be able, for example, to call a Belgian, French or German number from Italy, taking advantage of the new rules. However, it should be emphasized that there are already many operators who provide "discounts" and preferential tariffs for calling abroad significantly lower than the 19 cents set by the EU.
OTHER NEWS: THE PUSH FOR 5G
The directive not only contains new rules for intra-EU calls, but also other measures among which the mandatory emergency service of 112 which will allow people to be notified via SMS in the event that emergencies occur, such as a terrorist attack for example.
The text also establishes to increase investments aimed at favoring the arrival of the 5G network in European cities by 2020. Incentives for investments in fiber are also envisaged for wholesale-only operators, facilitations for co-investment in networks; twenty-year user licenses for frequencies.
Another important novelty concerns the extension to the large tech multinationals, the so-called over the top, of the rules in force for telephone operators. In a nutshell, these companies that offer services that also include calls - such as Whatsapp, Messenger, Skype and so on - will have to better inform customers about the quality of the services offered and provide for the provision of refunds in the event of disruption.
