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BRUSSELS Kevin De Bruyne Belgium Jersey , Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Members of the European Parliament Wednesday have voted through a complete ban on roaming charges for using mobile phones abroad in the European Union (EU). The long-awaited ban will take effect in June 2017.


"Roaming fees for calling, sending text messages and using the mobile internet abroad in the EU (and in EEA countries) will be banned from 15 June 2017," it said in a statement after the vote.


MORE THAN TWO YEARS IN MAKING


The vote sees the deal reached between European authorities in June to end roaming charges within the EU passed into law.


"This abolition of roaming surcharges has been long awaited by everybody: ordinary people, start-ups, SMEs and all kinds of organisations," said the rapporteur Jan Vertonghen Belgium Jersey , Pilar del Castillo in the European Parliament.


The European Commission presented its proposal for a telecoms single market, Connected Continent, in September 2013, in which it pledged to push roaming premiums out of the market.


The European Parliament voted on the draft legislation in April 2014 and set Dec. 15 2015 the deadline of ending roaming charges within the EU countries.


However, concerning about the financial impact on their national telecoms groups, ministers of EU national governments blocked the ban through the European Council in March 2015.


After another round of tough negotiations between the three institutions Eden Hazard Belgium Jersey , namely the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament, a compromise was finally reached in June this year.


The new law is warmly welcomed by the European Commission, who said the crucial agreement to finally end roaming charges is a significant achievement toward the digital single market.


"Today's agreement shows that the European Union can deliver tangible results to improve the daily life of Europeans," EU commissioner Gunther Oettinger, in charge of the Digital Economy and Society Dries Mertens Belgium Jersey , said in a statement on the new law.


"Roaming charges will be soon old memories," he said, adding that "digital challenges need strong action at European level, and we should continue in this direction to create a Digital Single Market."


ROAMING PRICES FALLING SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE 2007