New cut in EU phone roaming charges on July 1

Roaming charges for EU mobile phone users will reduce further on July 1, including a 55 percent price cut for data downloads, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

Beginning next month, EU mobile phone subscribers will pay a maximum extra charge of 20 euro centimes ($0.27) per megabyte for downloads while visiting another member country, instead of the 45 cents charged now.

The maximum surcharge for a phone call will also fall for travelling EU users with outgoing calls set to cost 19 cents per minute, instead of the current 24 cents, and 5 cents to receive a call instead of 7 cents.

Reducing cost barriers for telecommunications between EU member states is a key ambition of the European Commission, the EU's executive.

In April, the European Parliament endorsed a sweeping package of telecommunications reforms introduced by the Commission including a move to scrap roaming fees altogether.

"By the end of this year I hope we see the complete end of roaming charges agreed," Commissioner for the digital agenda Neelie Kroes said in a statement announcing the July 1 price cut.

"The Parliament has done their part, now it is up to Member States to seal the deal," she said.

© 2014 AFP