The European Union agreed to cap prices on intra-EU phone calls on Wednesday in a move hailed by MEPs as a victory for Brussels but dismissed as a populist stunt by critics. The decision comes a year after the "free roaming" revolution, in which Europeans calling, texting or using the internet when travelling in other EU nations are charged the same amount they would be at home. In the latest measure, mobile or fixed-line phone calls from an EU home country to another bloc member will now be capped at 19 euro cents ($0.22) per minute and six cents per text message.
"We agree that companies cannot charge excessive fees to users when they call or send an SMS from their home country via mobiles or landlines to another EU Member State," said MEP Pilar del Castillo, who negotiated on behalf of the European Parliament.