Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-23-Speech-3-013"
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"en.20070523.3.3-013"2
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"Thank you, Mr President. Today we are sending out a strong and clear message stating that where there is a distortion of market laws and if the consumer is not being treated fairly, then the European Union, and this Parliament in particular, is prepared to act. We have all heard about the cuts in roaming charges, which are going down by more than half. Personally, I believe, as does my group, that the charges could have been reduced further. However, we are prepared to take the good with the bad and to compromise, because if we waste any more time, consumers will be the ones to suffer. This is a significant victory for consumers. We have armed them with the best weapons – information and transparency. Now, upon their arrival in another European country consumers will automatically receive a message informing them of how much they will be charged when using their mobile phones. Moreover, operators are now obliged to provide a helpline free of charge in order to supply their clients with any help or information they require on the subject. In addition, specific help will be provided for the visually impaired. We want to see these regulations cause an increase rather than decrease in competition. We are aware that there are small and independent operators that are concerned that they will find themselves at a disadvantage. This is why we required the Commission to examine, and issue reports on, the situation of these operators. I will now move on to what is considered to be the most crucial point. It is well known that I was among those who were most insistent that these European tariffs ought to apply to all consumers. However, the Council insisted - in my opinion with equal force - that, in order for this tariff to apply, the consumer would have to request it from the operator. I will not delve into another argument on which this proposal favours the consumer more, because I believe that the facts are obvious. However, we accepted this compromise, firstly because, if we had not done so, we would not have had a regulation, and secondly because the Commission issued a statement during the negotiations saying that it was positive that around 80% of European consumers would automatically benefit from this European tariff. In addition, most of the other 20% are already paying a price that is comparable to the European tariff, and these mostly include businesses and persons with specific contracts. This means, therefore, that the most vulnerable consumers will be protected. To conclude, it is worth noting that the letter sent by Commissioner Reding explains that national regulators, together with the Commission, will monitor the process that will determine which consumers are going to benefit automatically from this European tariff. This is an extremely important process and, through it, we are proving that this Parliament is indeed in a position to respond."@en1
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