McCreevy against roaming plan

Internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy is opposing an EU regulation that would force mobile phone firms to abolish roaming fees in Europe by next summer.

Mr McCreevy is one of several powerful EU commissioners planning to oppose the imposition of retail price controls on mobile calls made and received by consumers while travelling abroad.

Trade commissioner Peter Mandelson and industry commissioner Gunter Verheugen are also opposing this element of a proposed EU regulation which is key to the commission's strategy to make the EU more relevant to ordinary people.

The commission is scheduled to debate a draft regulation on roaming fees drawn up by information commissioner Viviane Reding next week. EU leaders already signed up to work towards abolishing roaming fees at the European Council meeting in March, but vigorous lobbying by the mobile industry in recent weeks is prompting opposition within the 25-person commission to the proposed regulation.

A source close to Mr McCreevy said yesterday the commissioner did not believe that setting retail price controls on companies worked best for European consumers.

"Mr McCreevy is fine with setting wholesale price controls on mobile phone firms. However, he believes that competition is a much better and more efficient way of bringing down prices for consumers," said the source.

Mr McCreevy's intervention in the debate over mobile roaming fees puts him at odds with commission president José Manuel Barroso, who has defended Ms Reding's plan as an example of the type of concrete projects that the EU can undertake for the benefit of European consumers.

It also puts him at odds with the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, who fought hard to include a reference to reducing mobile fees in the European Council conclusions in March.

A meeting of commission officials has been called today to debate the proposed regulation and to suggest ways to overcome commissioners' concerns.