Leading article: The right to roam

At last, the end of a European legislative saga is in sight. For seven years the EU has been huffing and puffing about the charges mobile phone operators have been levying on customers who use their phones in other European countries. Now the European Parliament's Industry Committee has voted overwhelmingly in favour of compulsory limits on the charges imposed on "roaming" customers. The committee wants a 40 euro cents (27p) per minute limit on outgoing calls and a 15 euro cents (10p) limit on incoming calls. MEPs are also demanding that phone companies send automatic text messages detailing rates to each user. The full EU parliament will vote on the proposed regulation next month. EU ministers will then be asked to give their final approval in June.

There are still some details to be hammered out. Legislators must decide whether an EU-wide cap on roaming charges would be automatic, or whether customers would only receive it from their operator on request. Centre-right delegates want to allow customers who already have a mobile phone subscription to decide whether they want to be charged a capped tariff or opt to keep their existing packages (which often have higher roaming fees but lower charges on national calls). Socialist delegates and the European Commission argue that the cap should be automatic and want consumers to be able to opt out if offered a better deal.

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An automatic cap would be preferable. It would make for the most transparent and simple charging system. Reduced tariffs are already available for some travellers. The trouble is that most people do not know about them. It also seems wrong that people will continue to be charged merely to receive calls when abroad. There is no reason why the full cost should not be incurred by the person making the call.

Despite all this, this regulation promises to be a significant victory for consumers across Europe. It should reduce phone bills for cross-border travellers by up to two-thirds. Roaming charges have long represented naked profiteering by the phone operators. A four-minute call home for a Cypriot in Belgium can cost £8. For an Irish visitor in Malta the cost is £9. It is small wonder that companies are making £5.7bn profit from roaming charges alone every year. The operators claim such charges are justified because of the costs of routing calls on rival networks. The reality is that the operators have been taking advantage of their customers, who are often simply glad that their phone works abroad at all.

What, some people are wont to ask, has the EU ever done for us? Soon anyone who uses a mobile phone on the Continent will have a simple and powerful answer to that question.