site.btaCommissioner Ansip: Roaming Surcharges Should Be Scrapped

Commissioner Ansip: Roaming Surcharges Should Be Scrapped

Sofia, April 22 (BTA) - During a dialogue with citizens on EU's
Digital Single Market in Sofia on Tuesday, European Commissioner
Vice President Andrus Ansip said that roaming surcharges should
be scrapped. He added that some of the telecommunications
companies supported the idea.

Ansip said that all effort should be made to create a digital
single market in the EU and directives and regulations to that
end will be drafted. The EC Vice President said that the aim is
to have unlimited access to digital content regardless of
location, allaying fears that the digital single market will
destroy some industries.

Ansip pointed out the advantages of e-voting, adding that its
implementation is up to national governments. He said that in
order for e-voting to take place, people need electronic
identity cards. In 2005 when e-voting was introduced in Estonia
only 10,000 voters voted online, compared with 30 per cent in
the March 1 2015 general elections.

He said that although there is an agreement to introduce the 4G
LTE standard from 2020, some EU countries haven't held
competitions for the distribution of frequencies.

Approached whether laws in Bulgaria are observed, Ansip said
that without the rule of law no state can join the EU but the
system can always be improved.