Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-23-Speech-3-025"
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"en.20070523.3.3-025"2
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"Mr President, I would like to join those congratulating and thanking Mr Rübig for his report, and have no doubt that today will be a very important day for the European Parliament and several hundred million citizens of the European Union. We now have the chance to prove to our electorates that the European Parliament is a necessary institution and one that deals with issues that concern them.
The issue of excessive roaming charges imposed on consumers by international telecoms giants is something that has upset Europeans for many years. Telecommunications companies failed to compete on price, which is what should happen in a proper market, preferring, as numerous experts believe, to collude and fix roaming charges. Over the years, millions of tourists and small and medium-sized enterprises have suffered from this practice. We can now put an end to this unjust exploitation – which, although it may sound like a socialist slogan, is what it is, as the speeches of my colleagues from the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in this House attest.
Like many others, this regulation would not be necessary if the market were governed by healthy and transparent principles of competition. Our position is to stand up for the citizens of the European Union, who have clearly been subjected to a conspiracy that undermines the market. Thanks to the decisive stance of this House, including my group, we have successfully shown our partners in the Council and the Commission that we will not allow regulations to be watered down, or allow consumers’ interests to continue to be flouted.
Already this summer, EU citizens will be able to speak with their families, as well as with companies abroad, at much lower rates. Call charges will be substantially reduced to a maximum of 49 cents per minute for outgoing calls and 24 cents per minute for incoming calls, and these prices will fall even further in the coming years. I share the view expressed by others in this House and hope that these prices will fall more rapidly than in the compromise proposal."@en1
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