Telecoms - A Good Call from MEPs

Today MEPs voted to reinforce consumer rights and competition in telecom markets across Europe. We hope the Council will follow the same line, towards improving and facilitating consumers’ daily lives.

Many consumers still suffer from problems with their telecom providers: from complicated information to very long-term contracts, not to mention the difficulties to switch.
 
Concretely, thanks to today's move, consumers could benefit from more transparent information about tariffs and conditions of contracts. A series of measures would allow them to control and monitor how much money they want to spend, and would make switching easier, by limiting the
duration of contracts or implementing number portability within one working day.
 
Another piece of good news concerns the security and the right to privacy of consumers: the internet service provider or any web company will have to inform the consumer if  a breach of security puts their personal data at risk, for example in case of identity theft. The increased protection against unsolicited emails (spam) is also very much welcome.
 
Thankfully, MEPs spoke out against the "graduated response" model to be applied in Europe. The fundamental rights of individual freedom and privacy will not be called into question for the purposes of enforcing copyright. 
 
MEPs have also heard our call to facilitate out of court procedures (i.e. make sure conflicts between consumers and operators can be solved outside courts) and to increase the powers and independence of national regulators. We also welcome the reference to the need to analyse whether or not mobile communications and broadband should be ensured for all. 

Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC stated: "The text approved today is significantly better for consumers than the initial proposal; MEPs have taken steps to ensure that consumers’ rights are protected across Europe in the electronic communications environment. Our eyes now turn to the Council in the hope they will take up the Parliaments’ improvements in favour of consumers’rights during their discussions."

The European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) was created in 1962 by the consumer organisations of Belgium, Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. After working together for a number of years, these organisations decided to create a European association, based in Brussels, right at the heart of Community policy. BEUC was a pioneer, one of the first lobbying organisations to set up base in the European capital in a bid to influence the decision-making process.