Free phone roaming to stay in Europe for another decade 

Roaming charges were the bane of many business travellers and holidaymakers across Europe, with potentially huge costs added on for calls, texts and especially the use of data in foreign countries.

So-called "roaming" for free across Europe will stay in place for phone users for at least another decade, the European Commission has confirmed.

The EU's governing body said political agreement had been reached between member states and the European Parliament to extend the practice until 2032, extending what was first brought into being in 2017 after years of anger from consumers.

Roaming charges were the bane of many business travellers and holidaymakers across Europe, with potentially huge costs added on for calls, texts and especially the use of data in foreign countries.

There had been countless incidents of consumers getting a nasty shock when receiving their phone bills after returning from holidays, finding they owed hundreds of euros on top of their normal bill after using their phones as normal abroad.

Roaming charges were finally scrapped in 2017 after years of campaigning, meaning people could use their phones in EU countries like they would at home, including making and taking calls, sending and receiving texts, and watching the likes of YouTube or scrolling through social media networks.

Phone companies were criticised in 2017 when their marketing appeared to hint that scrapping the roaming charge was a new benefit for customers that they themselves had introduced, when the reality was that it was an EU policy.

The commission said the new regulation would prolong the existing system until 2032, while also being told where using a service might incur extra charges.

"Citizens will be able to call, text and use mobile data while travelling within the EU at no extra costs and with the same quality they experience at home. They will have improved access to emergency communications regardless of where they are in Europe, and they will have the right to clear information when a service they use while roaming might cause inadvertent extra charges.

The regulation will enter into force in July next year, it said.

Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said: “Spending holidays in Greece, Austria or Bulgaria, visiting customers or suppliers in Italy or Estonia… travelling abroad without having to worry about phone bills is a tangible part of the EU Single Market experience for all Europeans."