Kamp: arguing for abolishing extra calling charges to other EU countries is undesirable

Henk Kamp, outgoing Minister of Economic Affairs, says that he sees no point in committing himself at European level to abolishing the higher costs incurred by calling other EU countries from the home country.

When answering parliamentary questions about this issue, posed by D66 MP Jan Paternotte, Kamp says: “The option to call any country within the EU from the home country at the domestic rate is attractive to consumers, but has drawbacks. Calls for EU regulation requiring telecom companies to charge the domestic tariff for all calls from the home network to a network in the EU, so that telecom companies can no longer use the tariff for international calls as a means to distinguish themselves from their competitors in the market. “

In addition, such a measure could lead to higher costs for domestic calls, according to the minister. He argues that the need for such rules has also been overtaken by the market. For example, people would have the choice to use a provider that charges lower costs for international calls, or services such as Skype and WhatsApp. That is why Kamp sees no point in making an effort at European level to abolish extra costs for international calls and calls this ‘undesirable’.

MP Paternotte asked the question in response to an appeal from 150 MEPs. In it, they ask the European Commission to introduce rules to prevent 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 call states that this situation “doesn’t belong in the 21st century.” Roaming charges have been abolished since 15 June, allowing consumers to use their bundle ‘just like at home’ abroad, under certain conditions. ConsuWijzer recently introduced a calculation tool.