Calling and texting to another EU country will be cheaper from Wednesday

From Wednesday, international calls to other EU countries will be cheaper than before, and the same will be true for sending text messages. The rates for these forms of communication within the EU have been capped from 15 May.

The maximum prices are 19 cents per minute for a call to another EU country, to which VAT is added. For sending an SMS that is 6 cents, also excluding VAT. The scheme only applies to consumers and not to companies. The telecom operators must inform consumers of these maximum tariffs, which also apply in Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein. These maximum prices for calls and texts to other EU countries follow the end of roaming charges in European countries; the latter has been in effect since June 2017.

Incidentally, Henk Kamp, then the outgoing Minister of Economic Affairs, indicated in July 2017 that it is undesirable to argue for the abolition of the higher costs when calling another EU country. He found that to be restrictive for competition and could lead to higher costs for domestic calls, he said. He also found that for international calls, consumers often already knew how to find their way to providers that charge lower costs, or services such as Skype or WhatsApp.

Kamp came up with this negative position after D66 MP Paternotte asked him about it. He asked these questions on the basis of a call from 150 MEPs who had asked the European Commission to introduce rules to combat high prices when consumers call other EU countries from their home country. As a result, calls from abroad could sometimes be cheaper than calls at home. The parliamentarians felt that this did not belong in the 21st century. In June 2018, the European Parliament and the Council already reached an agreement on the maximum rates for calls between people in different EU countries.