Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-24-Speech-2-261"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech⁶
dcterms:Date	"2006-10-24"^^xsd:date⁶
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Infotund (küsimused Euroopa Komisjonile)⁶
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language⁶
lpv:document identification number	"en.20061024.33.2-261"⁶
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2006-10-24-Speech-2-262⁶
lpv:speaker	lp:Viviane Reding⁶
lpv:spoken text	". I am grateful to the honourable Member for asking the question. This gives me the opportunity to give an answer which I know is very important to Parliament, because Parliament has given much prominence to the topic of international roaming in recent years. As you know, for citizens there are two problems: first, the high prices they have to pay for crossing the borders; and then the problem of inadvertent roaming on a foreign network when they have not yet crossed the border but are living in a border area. In competitive markets one expects to see convergence of prices and costs, but when it comes to roaming there has been for many years now no evidence of a real relationship between prices and underlying costs. This point was also made very clearly in the impact assessment which accompanied the regulation which I have put on the table. The question is very simple. Why should a French customer who just crosses the border to Italy and makes a local call be charged from 50 cents to over EUR 1 per minute, when an Italian customer who is doing exactly the same will be charged between 10 and 13 cents per minute? All right, there are some additional costs if you take your phone into a neighbouring country, but there is very little justification for such high differences in price. In every other area of telecoms – fixed and broadband – European consumers are seeing significant improvements in price, choice and quality; only for international roaming has this not been the case. There are millions of citizens who have been very frustrated at these high prices for many years. We estimate that there are roughly 99 million European citizens living in regions located within 50 km of the borders and 11 million citizens within 5 km of the borders. They are those most affected by the extraordinarily high roaming prices. The regulation I have proposed, which is under discussion in Parliament and the Council, proposes substantial reductions in the roaming charges for all Europeans, consumers and business travellers. It is clear that when that is put in place, those living and roaming in internal border regions will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the regulation. From a technical point of view, because of the nature of mobile networks, consumers who live in such areas will have to pay some roaming charges, but there will be guarantees, if the regulation is passed, that the prices will be far more reasonable than they are today. There is also the question of inadvertent roaming, which is a possibility wherever mobile services are available and national borders exist. That is also why it is very important for those people that the charges will be closer to the cost. I very often criticise the operators for charging high prices. On the other hand, I must also say that when operators make the right moves in the right direction, I have to give credit where it is due. I am pleased to note, for example, that operators in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started to offer all-island rates. That means, for instance, that citizens in Ireland and in Northern Ireland now pay only one single rate, irrespective of where they are. That is a good example of best practice. I would like to see such initiatives encouraged and followed in other areas across Europe."@en⁴
lpv:translated text	"I am grateful to the honourable Member for asking the question. This gives me the opportunity to give an answer which I know is very important to Parliament, because Parliament has given much prominence to the topic of international roaming in recent years. As you know, for citizens there are two problems: first, the high prices they have to pay for crossing the borders; and then the problem of inadvertent roaming on a foreign network when they have not yet crossed the border but are living in a border area. In competitive markets one expects to see convergence of prices and costs, but when it comes to roaming there has been for many years now no evidence of a real relationship between prices and underlying costs. This point was also made very clearly in the impact assessment which accompanied the regulation which I have put on the table. The question is very simple. Why should a French customer who just crosses the border to Italy and makes a local call be charged from 50 cents to over EUR 1 per minute, when an Italian customer who is doing exactly the same will be charged between 10 and 13 cents per minute? All right, there are some additional costs if you take your phone into a neighbouring country, but there is very little justification for such high differences in price. In every other area of telecoms – fixed and broadband – European consumers are seeing significant improvements in price, choice and quality; only for international roaming has this not been the case. There are millions of citizens who have been very frustrated at these high prices for many years. We estimate that there are roughly 99 million European citizens living in regions located within 50 km of the borders and 11 million citizens within 5 km of the borders. They are those most affected by the extraordinarily high roaming prices. The regulation I have proposed, which is under discussion in Parliament and the Council, proposes substantial reductions in the roaming charges for all Europeans, consumers and business travellers. It is clear that when that is put in place, those living and roaming in internal border regions will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the regulation. From a technical point of view, because of the nature of mobile networks, consumers who live in such areas will have to pay some roaming charges, but there will be guarantees, if the regulation is passed, that the prices will be far more reasonable than they are today. There is also the question of inadvertent roaming, which is a possibility wherever mobile services are available and national borders exist. That is also why it is very important for those people that the charges will be closer to the cost. I very often criticise the operators for charging high prices. On the other hand, I must also say that when operators make the right moves in the right direction, I have to give credit where it is due. I am pleased to note, for example, that operators in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started to offer all-island rates. That means, for instance, that citizens in Ireland and in Northern Ireland now pay only one single rate, irrespective of where they are. That is a good example of best practice. I would like to see such initiatives encouraged and followed in other areas across Europe."@cs¹ "Hr. formand! Jeg er det ærede medlem taknemmelig for spørgsmålet. Det giver mig mulighed for at give et svar, som jeg er sikker på, at Parlamentet tillægger emnet stor betydning, fordi Parlamentet har prioriteret international højt i de seneste år. Som De ved, er der to problemer for borgerne. For det første er der de høje priser, de skal betale for at krydse grænserne, og for det andet er der problemet med utilsigtet på et fremmed netværk, når de ikke har krydset grænsen, men bor i et grænseområde. På markeder med fri konkurrence forventer man at se konvergens mellem priser og omkostninger, men når det handler om har der i snart mange år ikke været tegn på et reelt forhold mellem priser og de bagvedliggende omkostninger. Dette punkt blev også fremhævet i den medfølgende konsekvensanalyse til den forordning, som jeg har forelagt. Spørgsmålet er meget enkelt. Hvorfor skal en fransk kunde, der kun lige krydser grænsen til Italien og foretager et lokalt opkald, betale mellem en halv og en hel euro i minuttet, når en italiensk kunde, der foretager præcist det samme opkald, kun skal betale mellem 10 og 13 eurocent i minuttet? Der er naturligvis tillægsomkostninger forbundet med at tage sin telefon med til et naboland, men der er meget lidt belæg for så store prisforskelle. På alle andre telekommunikationsområder - fastnet såvel som bredbånd - oplever de europæiske forbrugere betydelige forbedringer i pris, udvalg og kvalitet. Kun med hensyn til international er der ikke sket forbedringer. Millioner af borgere har i årevis været meget frustrerede over disse høje priser. Der bor skønsmæssigt omkring 99 millioner europæiske statsborgere i regioner, der ligger nærmere end 50 km fra en grænse, og omkring 11 millioner borgere bor nærmere end 5 km fra en grænse. Det er disse borgere, der er hårdest ramt af de ekstraordinært høje priser. Den forordning, jeg har foreslået, og som er til debat i Parlamentet og Rådet, indeholder forslag om betydelige reduktioner i afgifterne for alle europæere, forbrugere og forretningsrejsende. Det er klart, at når denne forordning indføres, så vil det i høj grad gavne dem, der bor og roamer i internationale grænseregioner. Ud fra et teknisk synspunkt skal de forbrugere, der lever i sådanne områder, betale visse takster, men hvis forordningen vedtages, garanteres det, at priserne bliver langt mere rimelige end i dag. Der er også spørgsmålet om utilsigtet der kan forekomme alle steder, hvor der findes mobile tjenester og nationale grænser. Derfor er det også meget vigtigt for disse mennesker, at taksterne kommer til at ligge tættere på omkostningerne. Jeg kritiserer ofte operatørerne for at kræve for høje priser. På den anden side må jeg også give operatørerne den anerkendelse, de fortjener, når de bevæger sig i den rigtige retning. Jeg er f.eks. glad for at notere mig, at operatørerne i Irland og Nordirland er begyndt at tilbyde fælles takster for hele området. Det betyder f.eks., at borgerne i Irland og i Nordirland betaler den samme takst, uanset hvor i området de befinder sig. Det er et godt eksempel på bedste praksis. Jeg vil gerne have sådanne initiativer fremmet og ført ud i livet i andre områder i hele Europa."@da² ". Ich bin dem Herrn Abgeordneten für diese Frage dankbar. Sie gibt mir die Gelegenheit zu einer Antwort, die für das Parlament, wie ich weiß, sehr wichtig ist, denn dieses Haus hat der Problematik des internationalen Roamings in den letzten Jahren eine sehr große Bedeutung beigemessen. Bekanntlich bestehen für die Bürger zwei Probleme: erstens die hohen Preise, die sie für den Grenzübertritt zahlen müssen, und zweitens das Problem des unbeabsichtigten Roamings in einem ausländischen Netz, obwohl sie die Grenze nicht übertreten haben, sondern in einer Grenzregion leben. Auf Wettbewerbsmärkten erwartet man eine Konvergenz der Preise und Kosten, aber beim Roaming deutet seit vielen Jahren nichts auf einen realen Zusammenhang zwischen den Preisen und den ihnen zugrunde liegenden Kosten hin. Das kam auch in der Folgenabschätzung zu der von mir vorgelegten Verordnung sehr deutlich zum Ausdruck. Die Frage ist ganz einfach: Wieso sollte ein französischer Kunde, der nur die Grenze nach Italien übertritt und ein Ortsgespräch führt, 50 Cent bis zu über einen Euro pro Minute bezahlen, wenn dasselbe Gespräch einen italienischen Kunden 10 bis 13 Cent pro Minute kostet? Es stimmt schon, dass zusätzliche Kosten entstehen, wenn man sein Telefon in ein Nachbarland mitnimmt, aber eine derart hohe Preisdifferenz lässt sich kaum rechtfertigen. In jedem anderen Bereich der Telekommunikation – Festnetz und Breitband – stellen die europäischen Verbraucher erhebliche Verbesserungen bei Preis, Auswahl und Qualität fest, nur beim internationalen Roaming ändert sich nichts. Seit vielen Jahren ärgern sich Millionen von Bürgern über diese hohen Preise. Nach unseren Schätzungen leben rund 99 Millionen Bürger in einer Entfernung von maximal 50 km zur nächsten Grenze, und elf Millionen Bürger leben nur maximal 5 km von einer Grenze entfernt. Sie sind von diesen außerordentlich hohen Roaming-Preisen am stärksten betroffen. In der von mir unterbreiteten Verordnung, die derzeit im Parlament und im Rat debattiert wird, werden drastische Senkungen bei den Roaming-Gebühren für alle Europäer, Verbraucher und Geschäftsreisende vorgeschlagen. Natürlich werden nach ihrer Inkraftsetzung diejenigen, die in den Binnengrenzregionen leben und reisen, am meisten von der Verordnung profitieren. Unter technischen Gesichtspunkten ist festzustellen, dass in solchen Regionen wohnende Verbraucher aufgrund der Natur der Mobilfunknetze zwar Roaming-Gebühren zahlen müssen, aber wenn die Richtlinie angenommen wird, dann werden Garantien dafür bestehen, dass diese Preise wesentlich angemessener sein werden als heute. Dann ist da noch das Problem des unbeabsichtigten Roamings, das immer dort auftreten kann, wo es Mobilfunkdienste und Landesgrenzen gibt. Auch deshalb ist es für die Betroffenen wichtig, dass die Gebühren mehr den Kosten entsprechen. Ich kritisiere die Anbieter sehr oft für hohe Preise. Andererseits muss ich aber auch sagen, wenn die Anbieter Schritte in die richtige Richtung unternehmen, dann muss auch gelten: „Ehre wem Ehre gebührt“. So stelle ich beispielsweise mit Freude fest, dass Anbieter in Irland und im Vereinigten Königreich begonnen haben, Einheitstarife, die so genannten „All-Island-Tarife“, anzubieten. Das bedeutet beispielsweise, dass Verbraucher in Irland oder Nordirland jetzt einen einzigen Tarif zahlen, und zwar unabhängig davon, wo sie sich gerade befinden. Das ist ein gutes Beispiel für nachahmenswerte Praktiken. Ich würde mich freuen, wenn solche Initiativen in anderen Teilen in ganz Europa Anklang und Nachahmung finden würden."@de⁹ "Είμαι ευγνώμων στον αξιότιμο βουλευτή επειδή έθεσε την ερώτηση. Μου παρέχει τη δυνατότητα να δώσω μια απάντηση, η οποία γνωρίζω ότι είναι πολύ σημαντική για το Κοινοβούλιο, επειδή το Κοινοβούλιο έχει αναδείξει πολύ το θέμα της διεθνούς περιαγωγής τα τελευταία χρόνια. Όπως γνωρίζετε, υπάρχουν δύο προβλήματα για τους πολίτες: πρώτον, οι υψηλές τιμές που πρέπει να καταβάλουν για τη διέλευση των συνόρων· και, εν συνεχεία, το πρόβλημα της ακούσιας περιαγωγής σε ένα ξένο δίκτυο, ενώ δεν έχουν διέλθει τα σύνορα αλλά κατοικούν σε παραμεθόρια περιοχή. Σε ανταγωνιστικές αγορές αναμένει κανείς να διαπιστώσει σύγκλιση τιμών και κόστους, αλλά όσον αφορά την περιαγωγή εδώ και πολλά χρόνια δεν υπάρχουν αποδείξεις πραγματικής σχέσης μεταξύ τιμών και υποκείμενου κόστους. Αυτό το θέμα κατέστη επίσης πολύ σαφές στην εκτίμηση επιπτώσεων που συνόδευε τον κανονισμό που υπέβαλα προς συζήτηση. Το ερώτημα είναι πολύ απλό. Για ποιο λόγο ένας γάλλος πελάτης που μόλις διασχίζει τα σύνορα της Ιταλίας και κάνει ένα τοπικό τηλεφώνημα χρεώνεται από 50 λεπτά έως και πάνω από 1 ευρώ ανά λεπτό, όταν ένας ιταλός πελάτης που κάνει ακριβός το ίδιο θα χρεωθεί μεταξύ 10 και 13 λεπτών ανά λεπτό; Εντάξει, υπάρχει κάποιο πρόσθετο κόστος εάν πάρεις το τηλέφωνό σου σε μια γειτονική χώρα, αλλά δεν υπάρχουν επαρκείς δικαιολογίες για τόσο υψηλές διαφορές στην τιμή. Σε κάθε άλλο τομέα των εταιρειών τηλεφωνίας –σταθερής και ευρυζωνικής– οι ευρωπαίοι καταναλωτές διαπιστώνουν σημαντικές βελτιώσεις στην τιμή, την επιλογή και την ποιότητα· μόνο για τη διεθνή περιαγωγή δεν ισχύει αυτό. Υπάρχουν εκατομμύρια πολίτες που είναι πολύ απογοητευμένοι για αυτές τις υψηλές τιμές επί πολλά χρόνια. Εκτιμούμε ότι υπάρχουν περίπου 99 εκατομμύρια ευρωπαίοι πολίτες που κατοικούν σε περιοχές που βρίσκονται σε απόσταση 50 χλμ. από τα σύνορα και 11 εκατομμύρια πολίτες σε απόσταση 5 χλμ. από τα σύνορα. Είναι αυτοί που πλήττονται περισσότερο από τις εξαιρετικά υψηλές τιμές περιαγωγής. Ο κανονισμός που έχω προτείνει, ο οποίος βρίσκεται υπό συζήτηση στο Κοινοβούλιο και το Συμβούλιο, προτείνει σημαντικές μειώσεις στα τέλη περιαγωγής για όλους τους Ευρωπαίους, καταναλωτές και επαγγελματίες ταξιδιώτες. Είναι σαφές ότι όταν, τεθεί σε εφαρμογή, αυτοί που κατοικούν και κάνουν χρήση περιαγωγής σε εσωτερικές παραμεθόριες περιοχές θα είναι μεταξύ των μεγαλύτερων ευεργετούμενων του κανονισμού. Από τεχνικής άποψης, λόγω του χαρακτήρα των δικτύων κινητής τηλεφωνίας, οι καταναλωτές που κατοικούν σε τέτοιες περιοχές θα πρέπει να καταβάλουν τέλη περιαγωγής, αλλά θα υπάρξουν εγγυήσεις, εάν ο κανονισμός εγκριθεί, ότι οι τιμές θα είναι πολύ πιο εύλογες από ό,τι είναι σήμερα. Υπάρχει επίσης το ζήτημα της ακούσιας περιαγωγής, η οποία αποτελεί ένα ενδεχόμενο όπου είναι διαθέσιμες οι υπηρεσίες κινητής τηλεφωνίας και υπάρχουν εθνικά σύνορα. Γι’ αυτό είναι επίσης σημαντικό για αυτά τα άτομα τα τέλη να είναι πλησιέστερα στο κόστος. Πολύ συχνά επικρίνω τις εταιρείες για υψηλές χρεώσεις. Αφετέρου, πρέπει να πω επίσης ότι, όταν οι εταιρείες προβαίνουν στις σωστές κινήσεις προς τη σωστή κατεύθυνση, οφείλω να το αναγνωρίσω όταν πρέπει. Με χαρά διαπιστώνω, επί παραδείγματι, ότι οι εταιρείες στην Ιρλανδία και το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο έχουν ξεκινήσει να προσφέρουν ενιαία τέλη για όλη τη νήσο. Αυτό σημαίνει, επί παραδείγματι, ότι οι πολίτες στην Ιρλανδία και τη Βόρεια Ιρλανδία καταβάλλουν τώρα ένα ενιαίο τέλος, ανεξαρτήτως από το πού βρίσκονται. Αυτό αποτελεί ένα καλό παράδειγμα βέλτιστης πρακτικής. Θα ήθελα να ενθαρρύνονται ορισμένες τέτοιες πρωτοβουλίες και να ακολουθούνται και σε άλλους τομείς σε ολόκληρη την Ευρώπη."@el¹⁰ "Agradezco a su Señoría que me formule la pregunta. Así tengo ocasión de dar una respuesta que sé que es muy importante para el Parlamento, ya que este ha prestado mucha atención al tema de la itinerancia internacional en los últimos años. Como saben, los ciudadanos tienen dos problemas: uno, los altos precios que han de pagar por cruzar las fronteras; otro, la itinerancia inadvertida en una red extranjera que sufren quienes aún no han atravesado la frontera pero viven en una zona fronteriza. En un mercado competitivo cabe esperar una convergencia de precios y costes, pero en cuanto a la itinerancia, hace muchos años que no se aprecia una relación real entre el precio y el coste subyacente. Esta cuestión se planteó claramente en la evaluación de impacto que acompañó al reglamento que he puesto sobre la mesa. La cuestión es muy sencilla: ¿Por qué un cliente francés que acaba de cruzar la frontera italiana y hace una llamada local debe pagar entre cincuenta céntimos y un euro por minuto, cuando un cliente italiano que hace exactamente lo mismo paga solo entre diez y trece céntimos por minuto? Es cierto que existen algunos costes adicionales si se lleva el teléfono móvil a un país vecino, pero esa gran diferencia de precio apenas tiene justificación. En cualquier otro campo de las telecomunicaciones –fijas y de banda ancha–, los consumidores europeos gozan de sustanciales mejoras del precio, de la libertad de elección y de la calidad, pero no en el caso de la itinerancia internacional. Millones de ciudadanos se han sentido frustradas ante esos desorbitados precios durante muchos años. Se calcula que hay unos 99 millones de europeos viviendo en regiones situadas a menos de cincuenta kilómetros de las fronteras, y 11 millones a menos de cinco kilómetros. Son los más afectados por los altísimos precios de la itinerancia. El reglamento que he propuesto y que está en debate en el Parlamento y el Consejo, propone reducciones significativas en los precios de la itinerancia para todos los europeos: consumidores y viajeros profesionales. Está claro que cuando se ponga en práctica, los que viven y los que pasan por las regiones fronterizas interiores serán quienes más se puedan beneficiar. Desde un punto de vista técnico, dada la naturaleza de las redes de telefonía móvil, los consumidores que vivan en esas zonas deberán pagar algunos gastos de itinerancia, pero si se aprueba el reglamento habrá garantías de que los precios serán mucho más razonables que hoy en día. También está la cuestión de la itinerancia inadvertida, un riesgo que existe allí donde haya servicios de móvil disponibles y una frontera cercana. Por eso es muy importante para esas poblaciones que los precios se ajusten a los costes. Yo critico muchas veces a los operadores por cargar precios tan altos. Por otro lado, he de decir que cuando los operadores toman medidas correctas en el sentido correcto, debo reconocérselo como es debido. Por ejemplo, me complace observar que los operadores de Irlanda y el Reino Unido han comenzado a ofrecer precios comunes para toda la isla. Eso significa, por ejemplo, que los irlandeses y los norirlandeses pagan ahora una misma tarifa, independientemente de dónde estén. Es un claro ejemplo de buena práctica. Quisiera ver que esas iniciativas se repitan en otras partes de Europa."@es²⁰ "I am grateful to the honourable Member for asking the question. This gives me the opportunity to give an answer which I know is very important to Parliament, because Parliament has given much prominence to the topic of international roaming in recent years. As you know, for citizens there are two problems: first, the high prices they have to pay for crossing the borders; and then the problem of inadvertent roaming on a foreign network when they have not yet crossed the border but are living in a border area. In competitive markets one expects to see convergence of prices and costs, but when it comes to roaming there has been for many years now no evidence of a real relationship between prices and underlying costs. This point was also made very clearly in the impact assessment which accompanied the regulation which I have put on the table. The question is very simple. Why should a French customer who just crosses the border to Italy and makes a local call be charged from 50 cents to over EUR 1 per minute, when an Italian customer who is doing exactly the same will be charged between 10 and 13 cents per minute? All right, there are some additional costs if you take your phone into a neighbouring country, but there is very little justification for such high differences in price. In every other area of telecoms – fixed and broadband – European consumers are seeing significant improvements in price, choice and quality; only for international roaming has this not been the case. There are millions of citizens who have been very frustrated at these high prices for many years. We estimate that there are roughly 99 million European citizens living in regions located within 50 km of the borders and 11 million citizens within 5 km of the borders. They are those most affected by the extraordinarily high roaming prices. The regulation I have proposed, which is under discussion in Parliament and the Council, proposes substantial reductions in the roaming charges for all Europeans, consumers and business travellers. It is clear that when that is put in place, those living and roaming in internal border regions will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the regulation. From a technical point of view, because of the nature of mobile networks, consumers who live in such areas will have to pay some roaming charges, but there will be guarantees, if the regulation is passed, that the prices will be far more reasonable than they are today. There is also the question of inadvertent roaming, which is a possibility wherever mobile services are available and national borders exist. That is also why it is very important for those people that the charges will be closer to the cost. I very often criticise the operators for charging high prices. On the other hand, I must also say that when operators make the right moves in the right direction, I have to give credit where it is due. I am pleased to note, for example, that operators in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started to offer all-island rates. That means, for instance, that citizens in Ireland and in Northern Ireland now pay only one single rate, irrespective of where they are. That is a good example of best practice. I would like to see such initiatives encouraged and followed in other areas across Europe."@et⁵ "Olen kiitollinen arvoisalle jäsenelle tämän kysymyksen esittämisestä. Näin saan mahdollisuuden vastata kysymykseen, jonka tiedän olevan parlamentille hyvin tärkeä, sillä parlamentti on kiinnittänyt viime vuosina paljon huomiota kansainvälisiin verkkovierailuihin. Kuten tiedätte, kansalaisilla on tämän osalta kaksi ongelmaa: ensimmäinen ongelma liittyy siihen, että heidän on maksettava korkeaa hintaa rajojen ylittämisestä, ja toinen ongelma liittyy tahattomiin vierailuihin ulkomaan verkossa, kun he eivät ole vielä ylittäneet rajaa mutta asuvat raja-alueella. Kilpailluilla markkinoilla ihmiset odottavat, että hinnat ja kustannukset lähenevät toisiaan, mutta verkkovierailutoiminnan alalla ei ole moneen vuoteen ollut minkäänlaisia viitteitä siitä, että hinnat ja todelliset kustannukset olisivat oikeassa suhteessa. Tämä näkökohta tehtiin hyvin selväksi myös vaikutustenarvioinnissa, joka toteutettiin esittämäni asetuksen yhteydessä. Kysymys on hyvin yksinkertainen. Miksi ranskalaiselta asiakkaalta, joka ylittää Italian rajan ja joka soittaa paikallispuhelun, pitäisi veloittaa 50 sentistä 1 euroon minuutilta, kun italialaiselta asiakkaalta, joka toimii täysin samoin, veloitetaan 10–13 senttiä minuutilta? Olkoonkin, että puhelimen viemisestä naapurimaahan aiheutuu joitakin lisäkustannuksia, mutta tällaisille suurille hintaeroille on kuitenkin hyvin vähän perusteita. Televiestinnän kaikilla muilla aloilla – niin kiinteiden verkkojen kuin laajakaistaverkkojenkin alalla – eurooppalaiset kuluttajat ovat hyötyneet merkittävistä parannuksista hinnoissa, valikoimassa ja laadussa. Kansainvälinen verkkovierailumahdollisuus on tästä ainoa poikkeus. Miljoonat kansalaiset ovat olleet monien vuosien ajan hyvin turhautuneita näihin korkeisiin hintoihin. Arvioimme, että noin 99 miljoonaa EU:n kansalaista asuu alueilla, jotka sijaitsevat 50 kilometrin säteellä rajoilta, ja 11 miljoonaa kansalaista asuu 5 kilometrin säteellä rajoilta. Verkkovierailun erityisen korkeat hinnat koskevat varsinkin heitä. Ehdottamassani asetuksessa, josta keskustellaan parhaillaan parlamentissa ja neuvostossa, esitetään merkittäviä alennuksia kaikkien eurooppalaisten, kuluttajien ja liikematkailijoiden verkkovierailumaksuihin. On selvää, että kun asetus pannaan täytäntöön, siitä hyötyvät eniten ne verkkovierailupalveluja käyttävät henkilöt, jotka asuvat sisäraja-alueilla. Tällaisilla alueilla asuvien kuluttajien on matkaviestinverkkojen teknisen luonteen vuoksi maksettava jonkinsuuruisia verkkovierailumaksuja, mutta jos asetus hyväksytään, sillä taataan, että maksut ovat paljon kohtuullisempia kuin nykyään. Lisäksi on pohdittava tahatonta verkkovierailua, joka on mahdollista aina, kun verkkovierailupalvelu on saatavana ja kun kyse on kansallisista rajoista. Siksi näille ihmisille on myös hyvin tärkeää, että maksut vastaavat paremmin kustannuksia. Arvostelen hyvin usein puhelinoperaattoreita korkeiden maksujen perimisestä. Toisaalta minun on todettava myös, että kun operaattorit ottavat oikeita askelia oikeaan suuntaan, minun on annettava siitä tunnustusta, kun se on aiheellista. Olen tyytyväinen huomatessani, että esimerkiksi Irlannissa ja Yhdistyneessä kuningaskunnassa puhelinoperaattorit ovat alkaneet soveltaa koko saaren kattavia hintoja. Tämä tarkoittaa esimerkiksi sitä, että Irlannin ja Pohjois-Irlannin kansalaiset maksavat nyt vain yhden yhteisen hintaluokan mukaan riippumatta siitä, missä he ovat. Tämä on oiva esimerkki hyvästä käytännöstä. Haluaisin, että tällaisia aloitteita edistetään ja seurataan myös muilla alueilla eri puolilla EU:ta."@fi⁷ ". Je remercie l’honorable parlementaire pour sa question, qui m’offre l’occasion d’apporter une réponse qui - je le sais - revêt une importance toute particulière pour le Parlement, parce que ce dernier a accordé beaucoup de poids à la question de l’itinérance internationale ces dernières années. Vous le savez, deux problèmes se posent aux citoyens: tout d’abord, les prix élevés qu’ils doivent payer pour traverser les frontières; et, ensuite, l’insuffisance de l’itinérance d’un réseau étranger lorsqu’ils n’ont pas encore passé la frontière, mais vivent dans une région frontalière. Sur les marchés concurrentiels, on s’attend à une convergence des prix et des coûts, mais lorsqu’il est question d’itinérance, il n’y a toujours, après des années maintenant, aucun signe d’une relation réelle entre les prix et les coûts sous-jacents. Cette question a aussi été soulignée très clairement dans l’évaluation d’impact qui accompagnait le règlement que j’ai proposé. La question est très simple. Pourquoi un client français qui ne fait que traverser la frontière italienne et passer un appel local devrait-il payer de 50 cents à plus d’un euro par minute, alors qu’un client italien faisant exactement la même chose aura à payer entre 10 et 13 cents la minute? Certes, le fait que vous utilisiez votre téléphone dans un pays étranger implique des coûts supplémentaires, mais de telles différences de prix ne sont guères justifiées. Dans tous les autres domaines des télécommunications - fixes ou à large bande -, les consommateurs européens constatent des améliorations significatives en termes de prix, de choix et de qualité; seule l’itinérance internationale ne suit pas cette tendance. Des millions de citoyens sont très frustrés par ces prix depuis de longues années. Nous estimons que quelque 99 millions de citoyens européens habitent dans des régions situées à moins de 50 km d’une frontière et 11 millions à moins de 5 km d’une frontière. Ce sont eux les plus touchés par les prix exorbitants de l’itinérance internationale. Le règlement que j’ai mis sur la table et qui est en discussion au sein du Parlement et du Conseil propose des réductions substantielles des tarifs de l’itinérance pour tous les Européens, les clients et les voyageurs commerciaux. Il est évident que lorsque ce règlement sera en place, les personnes qui vivent et voyagent dans les régions frontalières intérieures seront les premières à en bénéficier. D’un point de vue technique, les réseaux mobiles sont d’une naturelle telle que les consommateurs vivant dans ces régions auront à payer des frais d’itinérance, mais, si le règlement est adopté, il existera des garanties que les prix seront bien plus raisonnables que ce n’est le cas aujourd’hui. Vient aussi le problème de l’itinérance insuffisante, qui constitue une possibilité lorsque des services de téléphonie mobile sont disponibles et qu’il existe des frontières nationales. C’est aussi pour cette raison qu’il est capital pour ces personnes que les tarifs pratiqués soient plus proches des coûts. Je critique souvent les opérateurs pour appliquer des tarifs élevés. Par ailleurs, je dois dire aussi que quand les opérateurs font un pas dans la bonne direction, je dois le reconnaître également. Je suis ravie de constater, par exemple, que des opérateurs en Irlande et au Royaume-Uni ont commencé à proposer des tarifs valables sur toute l’île. Cela signifie par exemple que les citoyens en Irlande et en Irlande du Nord paient désormais un tarif unique, où qu’ils se trouvent. C’est là un bel exemple de meilleure pratique. Je voudrais que ce genre d’initiative soit encouragé et suivi dans d’autres régions d’Europe."@fr⁸ "I am grateful to the honourable Member for asking the question. This gives me the opportunity to give an answer which I know is very important to Parliament, because Parliament has given much prominence to the topic of international roaming in recent years. As you know, for citizens there are two problems: first, the high prices they have to pay for crossing the borders; and then the problem of inadvertent roaming on a foreign network when they have not yet crossed the border but are living in a border area. In competitive markets one expects to see convergence of prices and costs, but when it comes to roaming there has been for many years now no evidence of a real relationship between prices and underlying costs. This point was also made very clearly in the impact assessment which accompanied the regulation which I have put on the table. The question is very simple. Why should a French customer who just crosses the border to Italy and makes a local call be charged from 50 cents to over EUR 1 per minute, when an Italian customer who is doing exactly the same will be charged between 10 and 13 cents per minute? All right, there are some additional costs if you take your phone into a neighbouring country, but there is very little justification for such high differences in price. In every other area of telecoms – fixed and broadband – European consumers are seeing significant improvements in price, choice and quality; only for international roaming has this not been the case. There are millions of citizens who have been very frustrated at these high prices for many years. We estimate that there are roughly 99 million European citizens living in regions located within 50 km of the borders and 11 million citizens within 5 km of the borders. They are those most affected by the extraordinarily high roaming prices. The regulation I have proposed, which is under discussion in Parliament and the Council, proposes substantial reductions in the roaming charges for all Europeans, consumers and business travellers. It is clear that when that is put in place, those living and roaming in internal border regions will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the regulation. From a technical point of view, because of the nature of mobile networks, consumers who live in such areas will have to pay some roaming charges, but there will be guarantees, if the regulation is passed, that the prices will be far more reasonable than they are today. There is also the question of inadvertent roaming, which is a possibility wherever mobile services are available and national borders exist. That is also why it is very important for those people that the charges will be closer to the cost. I very often criticise the operators for charging high prices. On the other hand, I must also say that when operators make the right moves in the right direction, I have to give credit where it is due. I am pleased to note, for example, that operators in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started to offer all-island rates. That means, for instance, that citizens in Ireland and in Northern Ireland now pay only one single rate, irrespective of where they are. That is a good example of best practice. I would like to see such initiatives encouraged and followed in other areas across Europe."@hu¹¹ "Ringrazio l’onorevole deputato per aver posto la presente interrogazione, che mi offre l’opportunità di fornire una risposta che so rivestire grande importanza per il Parlamento, in quanto negli ultimi anni quest’Assemblea ha riservato particolare attenzione all’argomento del internazionale. Come sapete, i cittadini si trovano di fronte a due problemi, il primo dei quali riguarda le elevate tariffe di attraversamento delle frontiere, mentre il secondo concerne il involontario su una rete estera nel caso di utenti che non valicano alcuna frontiera, ma risiedono in prossimità di confini nazionali. Nel contesto di mercati competitivi sarebbe auspicabile una convergenza di prezzi e costi, ma nel caso del non si riscontrano da anni elementi attestanti una relazione effettiva tra i prezzi imposti e i costi soggiacenti. Questo punto era stato evidenziato molto chiaramente nella valutazione d’impatto che accompagnava il regolamento che ho presentato. La domanda è semplice. Perché un utente francese che effettua una chiamata locale appena oltrepassato il confine con l’Italia si vede addebitata una cifra che va dai 50 centesimi a oltre un euro al minuto, mentre per un utente italiano nella stessa situazione l’addebito sarà compreso tra i 10 e i 13 centesimi al minuto? D’accordo, introdurre un telefono cellulare in un paese confinante comporta alcuni costi aggiuntivi, ma ciò non giustifica assolutamente simili differenze di prezzo. In tutti gli altri campi delle telecomunicazioni, come la telefonia fissa e la banda larga, i consumatori europei sono testimoni di un significativo miglioramento dei prezzi, della scelta e della qualità, tendenza, questa, che solo per il internazionale non si è potuta osservare. Da diversi anni milioni di cittadini sono oltremodo insoddisfatti per le elevate tariffe che vengono applicate. Stimiamo che siano circa 99 milioni gli europei residenti in regioni situate entro 50 chilometri dai confini, e 11 milioni quelli che vivono entro 5 chilometri. Sono i soggetti maggiormente interessati dalle tariffe di eccessivamente alte. Il regolamento da me presentato, attualmente oggetto di discussione in Parlamento e presso il Consiglio, propone sostanziali riduzioni delle tariffe di per tutti i cittadini europei, sia per i consumatori che per quanti si spostano per lavoro. E’ implicito che nel momento in cui la normativa verrà attuata, coloro che vivono e utilizzano il nelle regioni frontaliere interne saranno tra i principali destinatari a beneficiarne. Da un punto di vista tecnico, a causa della natura stessa delle reti di telefonia mobile, gli utenti che risiedono in tali zone dovranno sopportare alcuni costi di ma se approvato, il regolamento garantirà tariffe molto più ragionevoli rispetto alle attuali. Esiste poi la questione del involontario, fenomeno che può verificarsi ovunque siano disponibili servizi di telefonia mobile ed esistano confini nazionali. Anche per questo motivo è importante per i soggetti interessati che le tariffe siano commisurate ai costi. Molto spesso muovo critiche nei confronti degli operatori per la loro tendenza ad applicare tariffe elevate. D’altro canto, devo anche dire che quando questi compiono i giusti passi nelle opportune direzioni ne riconosco giustamente il merito. Mi fa piacere notare, per citare un caso, che gli operatori irlandesi e britannici hanno cominciato a proporre tariffe valide per tutto il territorio delle isole. Ciò significa, ad esempio, che i cittadini dell’Irlanda e dell’Irlanda del nord oggi pagano un’unica tariffa, a prescindere dal luogo in cui si trovano. Questo è un buon esempio di miglior prassi. Sarei lieta di vedere incoraggiato e seguito questo genere di iniziative anche in altre zone dell’Europa."@it¹² "I am grateful to the honourable Member for asking the question. This gives me the opportunity to give an answer which I know is very important to Parliament, because Parliament has given much prominence to the topic of international roaming in recent years. As you know, for citizens there are two problems: first, the high prices they have to pay for crossing the borders; and then the problem of inadvertent roaming on a foreign network when they have not yet crossed the border but are living in a border area. In competitive markets one expects to see convergence of prices and costs, but when it comes to roaming there has been for many years now no evidence of a real relationship between prices and underlying costs. This point was also made very clearly in the impact assessment which accompanied the regulation which I have put on the table. The question is very simple. Why should a French customer who just crosses the border to Italy and makes a local call be charged from 50 cents to over EUR 1 per minute, when an Italian customer who is doing exactly the same will be charged between 10 and 13 cents per minute? All right, there are some additional costs if you take your phone into a neighbouring country, but there is very little justification for such high differences in price. In every other area of telecoms – fixed and broadband – European consumers are seeing significant improvements in price, choice and quality; only for international roaming has this not been the case. There are millions of citizens who have been very frustrated at these high prices for many years. We estimate that there are roughly 99 million European citizens living in regions located within 50 km of the borders and 11 million citizens within 5 km of the borders. They are those most affected by the extraordinarily high roaming prices. The regulation I have proposed, which is under discussion in Parliament and the Council, proposes substantial reductions in the roaming charges for all Europeans, consumers and business travellers. It is clear that when that is put in place, those living and roaming in internal border regions will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the regulation. From a technical point of view, because of the nature of mobile networks, consumers who live in such areas will have to pay some roaming charges, but there will be guarantees, if the regulation is passed, that the prices will be far more reasonable than they are today. There is also the question of inadvertent roaming, which is a possibility wherever mobile services are available and national borders exist. That is also why it is very important for those people that the charges will be closer to the cost. I very often criticise the operators for charging high prices. On the other hand, I must also say that when operators make the right moves in the right direction, I have to give credit where it is due. I am pleased to note, for example, that operators in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started to offer all-island rates. That means, for instance, that citizens in Ireland and in Northern Ireland now pay only one single rate, irrespective of where they are. That is a good example of best practice. I would like to see such initiatives encouraged and followed in other areas across Europe."@lt¹⁴ "I am grateful to the honourable Member for asking the question. This gives me the opportunity to give an answer which I know is very important to Parliament, because Parliament has given much prominence to the topic of international roaming in recent years. As you know, for citizens there are two problems: first, the high prices they have to pay for crossing the borders; and then the problem of inadvertent roaming on a foreign network when they have not yet crossed the border but are living in a border area. In competitive markets one expects to see convergence of prices and costs, but when it comes to roaming there has been for many years now no evidence of a real relationship between prices and underlying costs. This point was also made very clearly in the impact assessment which accompanied the regulation which I have put on the table. The question is very simple. Why should a French customer who just crosses the border to Italy and makes a local call be charged from 50 cents to over EUR 1 per minute, when an Italian customer who is doing exactly the same will be charged between 10 and 13 cents per minute? All right, there are some additional costs if you take your phone into a neighbouring country, but there is very little justification for such high differences in price. In every other area of telecoms – fixed and broadband – European consumers are seeing significant improvements in price, choice and quality; only for international roaming has this not been the case. There are millions of citizens who have been very frustrated at these high prices for many years. We estimate that there are roughly 99 million European citizens living in regions located within 50 km of the borders and 11 million citizens within 5 km of the borders. They are those most affected by the extraordinarily high roaming prices. The regulation I have proposed, which is under discussion in Parliament and the Council, proposes substantial reductions in the roaming charges for all Europeans, consumers and business travellers. It is clear that when that is put in place, those living and roaming in internal border regions will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the regulation. From a technical point of view, because of the nature of mobile networks, consumers who live in such areas will have to pay some roaming charges, but there will be guarantees, if the regulation is passed, that the prices will be far more reasonable than they are today. There is also the question of inadvertent roaming, which is a possibility wherever mobile services are available and national borders exist. That is also why it is very important for those people that the charges will be closer to the cost. I very often criticise the operators for charging high prices. On the other hand, I must also say that when operators make the right moves in the right direction, I have to give credit where it is due. I am pleased to note, for example, that operators in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started to offer all-island rates. That means, for instance, that citizens in Ireland and in Northern Ireland now pay only one single rate, irrespective of where they are. That is a good example of best practice. I would like to see such initiatives encouraged and followed in other areas across Europe."@lv¹³ "I am grateful to the honourable Member for asking the question. This gives me the opportunity to give an answer which I know is very important to Parliament, because Parliament has given much prominence to the topic of international roaming in recent years. As you know, for citizens there are two problems: first, the high prices they have to pay for crossing the borders; and then the problem of inadvertent roaming on a foreign network when they have not yet crossed the border but are living in a border area. In competitive markets one expects to see convergence of prices and costs, but when it comes to roaming there has been for many years now no evidence of a real relationship between prices and underlying costs. This point was also made very clearly in the impact assessment which accompanied the regulation which I have put on the table. The question is very simple. Why should a French customer who just crosses the border to Italy and makes a local call be charged from 50 cents to over EUR 1 per minute, when an Italian customer who is doing exactly the same will be charged between 10 and 13 cents per minute? All right, there are some additional costs if you take your phone into a neighbouring country, but there is very little justification for such high differences in price. In every other area of telecoms – fixed and broadband – European consumers are seeing significant improvements in price, choice and quality; only for international roaming has this not been the case. There are millions of citizens who have been very frustrated at these high prices for many years. We estimate that there are roughly 99 million European citizens living in regions located within 50 km of the borders and 11 million citizens within 5 km of the borders. They are those most affected by the extraordinarily high roaming prices. The regulation I have proposed, which is under discussion in Parliament and the Council, proposes substantial reductions in the roaming charges for all Europeans, consumers and business travellers. It is clear that when that is put in place, those living and roaming in internal border regions will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the regulation. From a technical point of view, because of the nature of mobile networks, consumers who live in such areas will have to pay some roaming charges, but there will be guarantees, if the regulation is passed, that the prices will be far more reasonable than they are today. There is also the question of inadvertent roaming, which is a possibility wherever mobile services are available and national borders exist. That is also why it is very important for those people that the charges will be closer to the cost. I very often criticise the operators for charging high prices. On the other hand, I must also say that when operators make the right moves in the right direction, I have to give credit where it is due. I am pleased to note, for example, that operators in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started to offer all-island rates. That means, for instance, that citizens in Ireland and in Northern Ireland now pay only one single rate, irrespective of where they are. That is a good example of best practice. I would like to see such initiatives encouraged and followed in other areas across Europe."@mt¹⁵ "Ik ben de geachte afgevaardigde dankbaar dat hij deze vraag stelt. Dit biedt mij namelijk de gelegenheid om een antwoord te geven op een kwestie die voor het Parlement zeer belangrijk is gezien de aandacht die in de afgelopen jaren is besteed aan het onderwerp internationale roaming. Zoals bekend, zijn er voor de burgers twee problemen: ten eerste de hoge prijs die zij voor mobiel bellen moeten betalen als zij de grens oversteken en ten tweede het probleem van de onbedoelde roaming via een buitenlands netwerk, niet omdat zij een grens zijn overgestoken, maar omdat zij in een grensgebied wonen. In een competitieve markt is de verwachting dat er doorgaans een convergentie van prijzen en kosten zal plaatsvinden. Met betrekking tot roaming is er echter al vele jaren geen enkel bewijs voor een echte koppeling tussen prijzen en de onderliggende kosten. Dit punt is ook duidelijk naar voren gekomen in de effectrapportage die in het kader van de door mij voorgestelde verordening is opgesteld. De kwestie is eigenlijk heel eenvoudig. Waarom zou een Franse klant die net de grens met Italië is overgestoken en die een lokaal telefoongesprek voert hier 50 cent tot meer dan 1 euro per minuut voor moeten betalen, terwijl een Italiaanse klant die ook een lokaal gesprek voert slechts tussen de 10 en 13 cent in rekening gebracht krijgt? Ik geef toe dat er wat extra kosten zijn als iemand met zijn of haar telefoon vanuit een buurland belt, maar dergelijk grote prijsverschillen zijn nauwelijks te rechtvaardigen. Op alle andere telecomgebieden – zowel wat vaste als breedbandverbindingen betreft – hebben de Europese consumenten van aanzienlijk betere prijzen en keuzemogelijkheden en van een hogere kwaliteit kunnen profiteren; internationale roaming vormt hierop de enige uitzondering. Er zijn miljoenen burgers die zich al jaren ergeren aan deze hoge prijzen. Naar schatting leven er ongeveer 99 miljoen Europese burgers in regio’s waar de afstand tot de grenzen minder dan vijftig kilometer bedraagt. Circa 11 miljoen burgers woont zelfs op minder dan 5 kilometer van een grens. Zij hebben de meeste last van die buitengewoon hoge roamingprijzen. De verordening die ik heb voorgesteld is thans onderwerp van discussie in dit Parlement en in de Raad. In die verordening worden aanzienlijke verlagingen van de roamingprijzen voorgesteld voor alle Europeanen, dus zowel voor consumenten als voor zakelijke reizigers. Het moge duidelijk zijn dat de mensen die in de ‘binnen-grensregio’s’ wonen en roamen, tot de groep zullen behoren die het meeste profijt van deze verordening heeft zodra die in werking is getreden. Vanuit technisch perspectief zullen de consumenten die in die regio’s wonen vanwege de aard van mobiele netwerken overigens wel een bedrag aan roamingkosten moeten betalen. Als de verordening wordt aangenomen, kunnen zij er echter nu op vertrouwen dat de prijzen veel redelijker zullen zijn dan nu het geval is. Dan is er nog de kwestie van het onbedoeld roamen, iets wat altijd kan gebeuren waar mobiele diensten beschikbaar zijn in grensgebieden. Daarom is het voor de mensen die daar wonen ook zeer belangrijk dat de prijzen dichter in de buurt van de kosten komen te liggen. Ik lever vaak kritiek op de exploitanten omdat zij te hoge prijzen hanteren. Aan de andere kant moet ik ook zeggen dat de exploitanten zelf al de gewenste kant op gaan, ere wie ere toekomt. Zo is het een goede zaak dat exploitanten in Ierland en in het Verenigd Koninkrijk een begin hebben gemaakt met aanbieden van tarieven die voor het hele eiland gelden. Dat betekent bijvoorbeeld dat burgers in Ierland en Noord-Ierland nu slechts één enkel tarief betalen, ongeacht waar zij zich op het eiland bevinden. Dat is een goed voorbeeld van beste praktijken. Ik zou graag zien dat dergelijke initiatieven meer gestimuleerd worden en navolging krijgen in andere delen van Europa."@nl³ "I am grateful to the honourable Member for asking the question. This gives me the opportunity to give an answer which I know is very important to Parliament, because Parliament has given much prominence to the topic of international roaming in recent years. As you know, for citizens there are two problems: first, the high prices they have to pay for crossing the borders; and then the problem of inadvertent roaming on a foreign network when they have not yet crossed the border but are living in a border area. In competitive markets one expects to see convergence of prices and costs, but when it comes to roaming there has been for many years now no evidence of a real relationship between prices and underlying costs. This point was also made very clearly in the impact assessment which accompanied the regulation which I have put on the table. The question is very simple. Why should a French customer who just crosses the border to Italy and makes a local call be charged from 50 cents to over EUR 1 per minute, when an Italian customer who is doing exactly the same will be charged between 10 and 13 cents per minute? All right, there are some additional costs if you take your phone into a neighbouring country, but there is very little justification for such high differences in price. In every other area of telecoms – fixed and broadband – European consumers are seeing significant improvements in price, choice and quality; only for international roaming has this not been the case. There are millions of citizens who have been very frustrated at these high prices for many years. We estimate that there are roughly 99 million European citizens living in regions located within 50 km of the borders and 11 million citizens within 5 km of the borders. They are those most affected by the extraordinarily high roaming prices. The regulation I have proposed, which is under discussion in Parliament and the Council, proposes substantial reductions in the roaming charges for all Europeans, consumers and business travellers. It is clear that when that is put in place, those living and roaming in internal border regions will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the regulation. From a technical point of view, because of the nature of mobile networks, consumers who live in such areas will have to pay some roaming charges, but there will be guarantees, if the regulation is passed, that the prices will be far more reasonable than they are today. There is also the question of inadvertent roaming, which is a possibility wherever mobile services are available and national borders exist. That is also why it is very important for those people that the charges will be closer to the cost. I very often criticise the operators for charging high prices. On the other hand, I must also say that when operators make the right moves in the right direction, I have to give credit where it is due. I am pleased to note, for example, that operators in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started to offer all-island rates. That means, for instance, that citizens in Ireland and in Northern Ireland now pay only one single rate, irrespective of where they are. That is a good example of best practice. I would like to see such initiatives encouraged and followed in other areas across Europe."@pl¹⁶ "Agradeço ao senhor deputado a sua pergunta. Tenho assim a oportunidade de responder a uma questão que sei ser muito importante para o Parlamento, pois esta Assembleia deu grande relevo ao tema do roaming internacional nos últimos anos. Como sabem, em relação aos cidadãos, há dois problemas: primeiro, os preços elevados que têm de pagar quando atravessam fronteiras; e depois o problema de um roaming acidental numa rede estrangeira quando não atravessaram ainda a fronteira mas vivem numa região fronteiriça. Presume-se que nos mercados competitivos haja convergência de preços e custos, mas no que se refere roaming, há já muitos anos que não há qualquer evidência de uma verdadeira relação entre preços e custos implícitos. Esta questão foi deixada muito clara na avaliação de impacto que acompanhou o regulamento que apresentei. A questão é muito simples. Por que razão se cobra a um cliente francês, que acabou de atravessar a fronteira com Itália e faz uma chamada local, entre 50 cêntimos e mais de 1 euro por minuto, quando um cliente italiano que está a fazer exactamente a mesma coisa terá de pagar entre 10 a 13 cêntimos por minuto? É certo que há alguns custos adicionais se utilizamos o telefone num país vizinho, mas essa é uma justificação muito pobre para uma diferença tão acentuada de preços. Em todas as outras áreas das telecomunicações – fixa e banda larga – os consumidores europeus podem ver melhorias significativas em termos de preços, escolha e qualidade; só em relação ao roaming internacional é que as coisas não têm sido assim. Há muitos anos que muitos milhões de cidadãos se sentem desapontados com estes preços. Estimamos que há aproximadamente 99 milhões de cidadãos europeus a viver em regiões localizadas num raio de 50 km das fronteiras e 11 milhões de cidadãos num raio de 5 km das fronteiras. Estes são os mais afectados pelos preços extraordinariamente elevados do roaming. O regulamento que propus, que está em discussão no Parlamento e Conselho, propõe reduções substanciais nos encargos do roaming para todos os europeus, consumidores e empresários em viagem. É óbvio que quando essa medida entrar em vigor, aqueles que vivem e usam o roaming nas regiões fronteiriças internas estarão entre os grandes destinatários do regulamento. De um ponto de vista técnico, devido à natureza das redes móveis, os consumidores que vivem nessas zonas terão de pagar alguns encargos pelo roaming, mas haverá garantias, no caso de o regulamento ser aprovado, de que os preços serão de longe mais razoáveis do que actualmente. Há também a questão do roaming acidental, que é uma possibilidade sempre que há serviços móveis disponíveis e existam fronteiras nacionais. Razão por que é tão importante para essas pessoas que os encargos estejam mais perto do custo. Critico frequentemente os operadores por cobrarem preços tão elevados. Por outro lado, também devo dizer que nas situações em os operadores avançam na direcção certa, tenho de lhes dar o devido crédito. Regozijo-me por verificar, por exemplo, que os operadores na Irlanda e no Reino Unido começaram a oferecer taxas insulares. Quer isso dizer que, por exemplo, neste momento, os cidadãos na Irlanda ou no Norte da Irlanda pagam apenas uma taxa única, independentemente do local onde se encontrem. Esse é um bom exemplo de boas práticas. Gostaria que essas iniciativas fossem encorajadas e seguidas noutras regiões da Europa."@pt¹⁷ "I am grateful to the honourable Member for asking the question. This gives me the opportunity to give an answer which I know is very important to Parliament, because Parliament has given much prominence to the topic of international roaming in recent years. As you know, for citizens there are two problems: first, the high prices they have to pay for crossing the borders; and then the problem of inadvertent roaming on a foreign network when they have not yet crossed the border but are living in a border area. In competitive markets one expects to see convergence of prices and costs, but when it comes to roaming there has been for many years now no evidence of a real relationship between prices and underlying costs. This point was also made very clearly in the impact assessment which accompanied the regulation which I have put on the table. The question is very simple. Why should a French customer who just crosses the border to Italy and makes a local call be charged from 50 cents to over EUR 1 per minute, when an Italian customer who is doing exactly the same will be charged between 10 and 13 cents per minute? All right, there are some additional costs if you take your phone into a neighbouring country, but there is very little justification for such high differences in price. In every other area of telecoms – fixed and broadband – European consumers are seeing significant improvements in price, choice and quality; only for international roaming has this not been the case. There are millions of citizens who have been very frustrated at these high prices for many years. We estimate that there are roughly 99 million European citizens living in regions located within 50 km of the borders and 11 million citizens within 5 km of the borders. They are those most affected by the extraordinarily high roaming prices. The regulation I have proposed, which is under discussion in Parliament and the Council, proposes substantial reductions in the roaming charges for all Europeans, consumers and business travellers. It is clear that when that is put in place, those living and roaming in internal border regions will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the regulation. From a technical point of view, because of the nature of mobile networks, consumers who live in such areas will have to pay some roaming charges, but there will be guarantees, if the regulation is passed, that the prices will be far more reasonable than they are today. There is also the question of inadvertent roaming, which is a possibility wherever mobile services are available and national borders exist. That is also why it is very important for those people that the charges will be closer to the cost. I very often criticise the operators for charging high prices. On the other hand, I must also say that when operators make the right moves in the right direction, I have to give credit where it is due. I am pleased to note, for example, that operators in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started to offer all-island rates. That means, for instance, that citizens in Ireland and in Northern Ireland now pay only one single rate, irrespective of where they are. That is a good example of best practice. I would like to see such initiatives encouraged and followed in other areas across Europe."@sk¹⁸ "I am grateful to the honourable Member for asking the question. This gives me the opportunity to give an answer which I know is very important to Parliament, because Parliament has given much prominence to the topic of international roaming in recent years. As you know, for citizens there are two problems: first, the high prices they have to pay for crossing the borders; and then the problem of inadvertent roaming on a foreign network when they have not yet crossed the border but are living in a border area. In competitive markets one expects to see convergence of prices and costs, but when it comes to roaming there has been for many years now no evidence of a real relationship between prices and underlying costs. This point was also made very clearly in the impact assessment which accompanied the regulation which I have put on the table. The question is very simple. Why should a French customer who just crosses the border to Italy and makes a local call be charged from 50 cents to over EUR 1 per minute, when an Italian customer who is doing exactly the same will be charged between 10 and 13 cents per minute? All right, there are some additional costs if you take your phone into a neighbouring country, but there is very little justification for such high differences in price. In every other area of telecoms – fixed and broadband – European consumers are seeing significant improvements in price, choice and quality; only for international roaming has this not been the case. There are millions of citizens who have been very frustrated at these high prices for many years. We estimate that there are roughly 99 million European citizens living in regions located within 50 km of the borders and 11 million citizens within 5 km of the borders. They are those most affected by the extraordinarily high roaming prices. The regulation I have proposed, which is under discussion in Parliament and the Council, proposes substantial reductions in the roaming charges for all Europeans, consumers and business travellers. It is clear that when that is put in place, those living and roaming in internal border regions will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the regulation. From a technical point of view, because of the nature of mobile networks, consumers who live in such areas will have to pay some roaming charges, but there will be guarantees, if the regulation is passed, that the prices will be far more reasonable than they are today. There is also the question of inadvertent roaming, which is a possibility wherever mobile services are available and national borders exist. That is also why it is very important for those people that the charges will be closer to the cost. I very often criticise the operators for charging high prices. On the other hand, I must also say that when operators make the right moves in the right direction, I have to give credit where it is due. I am pleased to note, for example, that operators in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started to offer all-island rates. That means, for instance, that citizens in Ireland and in Northern Ireland now pay only one single rate, irrespective of where they are. That is a good example of best practice. I would like to see such initiatives encouraged and followed in other areas across Europe."@sl¹⁹ ". Jag är tacksam mot ledamoten för denna fråga. Den ger mig tillfälle att ge ett svar som jag vet är mycket betydelsefullt för parlamentet, eftersom parlamentet har gett ämnet internationell roaming en framträdande plats under de senaste åren. Som ni vet står invånarna inför två problem: först och främst de höga avgifter som de måste betala för tjänster över gränserna. Dessutom finns problemet med oavsiktlig roaming på ett utländskt nätverk, när man inte har korsat någon gräns utan bor i en gränsbygd. På en konkurrenspräglad marknad förväntar man sig att se pris- och kostnadskonvergens, men i fråga om roaming har det under många år inte funnits några tecken på en verklig relation mellan priser och underliggande kostnader. Detta påpekades också mycket tydligt i den konsekvensbedömning som medföljde den förordning som jag har lagt fram. Frågan är mycket enkel. Varför ska en fransk kund som korsar gränsen till Italien och ringer ett lokalt samtal behöva betala från 50 cent till över 1 euro per minut när en italiensk kund som gör samma sak betalar mellan 10 och 13 cent per minut? Okej, det medför vissa merkostnader att ta med sin telefon till ett grannland, men det finns inte mycket som motiverar en sådan stor prisskillnad. På alla andra områden för telekommunikation – fast och bredband – upplever europeiska konsumenter betydande förbättringar när det gäller pris, valmöjligheter och kvalitet. Det är bara i fråga om internationell roaming som detta inte är fallet. Det finns miljontals invånare som har varit mycket frustrerade över dessa höga priser i många år. Vi uppskattar att det finns omkring 99 miljoner europeiska medborgare som bor i områden som ligger mindre än 50 km från en inre gräns och 11 miljoner som bor mindre än 5 km från en inre gräns. Dessa personer drabbas hårdast av de otroligt höga roamingpriserna. Den förordning som jag har lagt fram, som för närvarande diskuteras i parlamentet och rådet, är ett förslag till en väsentlig sänkning av avgifterna för roaming för alla européer, konsumenter och affärsresenärer. Det råder ingen tvekan om att det är de personer som bor och rör sig utmed de inre gränserna som kommer att höra till dem som gynnas mest av fördraget när det träder i kraft. Från teknisk synpunkt kommer konsumenter som bor i sådana områden att vara tvungna att betala vissa avgifter för roaming p.g.a. mobiltelefonnätens natur, men om förordningen träder i kraft kommer det att finnas garantier för mycket rimligare avgifter än i dag. Vi har också frågan om oavsiktlig roaming, som kan förekomma varhelst det finns mobiltelefonitjänster och nationella gränser. Det är också anledningen till att det är mycket viktigt för dessa personer att priserna ligger närmare kostnaderna. Jag kritiserar ofta operatörerna för deras höga priser. Jag måste å andra sidan också säga att jag ärar den som äras bör när operatörer tar ett steg i rätt riktning. Det gläder mig till exempel att se att operatörer i Irland och Storbritannien har börjat erbjuda samma pris över hela öarna. Det innebär exempelvis att invånare i Irland och Nordirland nu bara betalar ett enda pris, oavsett var de befinner sig. Det är ett bra exempel på bästa metod. Jag skulle vilja se sådana initiativ uppmuntras och efterföljas i andra områden i Europa."@sv²¹
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{5,19,15,1,18,14,16,11,11,13,4} "Viviane Reding,"^{5,19,15,1,18,14,16,11,13,4,20} "miembro de la Comisión."²⁰ "roaming"^2,12