Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein said Friday afternoon that Juncker made a decision to withdraw the proposal in light of “feedback received”.
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Winterstein also stressed that “contrary to reports, roaming charges are going to disappear”. The Commission says the average European is overseas 12 days a year.
“In the light of the feedback that we have received”, said EU Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein on Friday, “The President (Juncker) has instructed the services to withdraw the draft proposal and to work on a new one, on a better one”.
Juncker will present his annual State of the Union speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday and officials say it is likely to contain proposals to promote economic growth and further remove barriers inside Europe’s single market. Roaming charges for consumers travelling in the European Union are set to be abolished from June 15 2017.
“We have been listening and now we are going back to the drawing board”, he said.
Opposition came principally from mobile phone providers, who now enjoy lucrative extra income from charging customers more for data and calls when overseas.
“MEP Pilar del Castillo Vera, who was responsible for steering the new rules through Parliament, said: “[Consumers] will benefit from reduced roaming charges, of up to four times, on voice, data and text messages when travelling in the EU.
Following publication of the proposal, which can be vetoed by national governments or MEPs, a storm of criticism appeared.
‘This is what we have promised to the people and we keep this promise.
Juncker’s spokesperson, Margaritis Schinas, said: “Let me be very clear, we have put an end to roaming”. “We expect the European Commission to give a strong signal in this direction next week”.
The scrapping of additional costs of using a mobile phone on the Continent is the result of years of negotiations between the European Commission (EC) and telecom operators and could save British holidaymakers dozens of pounds.
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Over the summer, the Commission decided not to levy fines on Spain and Portugal for breaking budget rules in the euro zone.
