"Today's vote is good news for European consumers," said Viviane Reding, EU telecom commissioner. "The European Parliament has today voted in favor of a strong and competitive single telecoms market without borders for cross-border services, competition and investment in Europe. This will level the playing field for telecoms operators in Europe, enhance legal certainty, and broaden consumer choice.
Reding went on to say that new rules will cut the cost of SMS and roaming in the EU. A European telecom regulator will be established, and while Reding said she was disappointed that the regulator will not have responsibility for network security, she lauded the fact that the EU will fund the position, giving it more independence. Half of the European telecom regulator's staff will be obtained from national telecom regulators, thus working alongside experts which the new European body would recruit itself, which Reding termed "a very constructive improvement on the Commission's initial proposal that I fully support."
Reding said that the independence of telecom regulators, was "the backbone of an efficient application of telecoms rules for fair competition," and cited recent interference with the Romanian telecom regulator's work.
"Competition brings lower prices, better-quality services and more choice," said Reding, "so consumers are the real winners in today's vote. Increased transparency and information for consumers, better access to services for users with disabilities, a more efficient 112 European emergency number and number portability within one day -- all these Commission proposals have received strong support in Parliament, for which I am very grateful."
