Bulgaria wants a guarantee that lowering roaming costs would not lead to costlier national calls
27.11.2014
Parallel to the introduction of roaming costs in the EU without overcharge some legislative guarantees have to be envisaged to ensure that there is no increase in the national costs for mobile services at the expense of the lowered prices for international calls, texts and data. This was the position expressed by the Bulgarian party at the EU Council of the Minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Energy (Telecommunications panel), which was held today in Brussels. The Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communication Valery Borissov headed the Bulgarian delegation.
National costs for mobile calls in Bulgaria are among the lowest in Europe. That is why it is important to maintain this trend irrespective of the fact that roaming costs will be lowered, said the Deputy Minister during the discussions. Special attention has to be paid to the technical solution to the issues related to roaming and the criteria that the European regulators will make up. Thus, market distortions and the possible practical discomfort for the users will be avoided. It is vital for users to keep their usual consumptions when travelling in the EU.
As a result of today’s discussions, the participants shared the view that the legislative proposal on roaming has to be reviewed at an expert level within the working group to the Council and after clarifying the text to move on to negotiations with the European Parliament.
During the meeting a debate on the preparation of the Mid-term review of the EU Strategy 2020 was held. Each party presented their views on its implementation at the moment and outlined their future priorities. The highlight of Borissov’s speech was the expansion of the broadband network, electronic services and social inclusion of the population in remote areas of the country in EU Digital Agenda. |