Joseph Muscat, the Member of the European Parliament responsible for penning the report on the proposed Regulation aimed at curbing mobile telephone roaming costs, has just published his first Working Document on the subject.

The report, of which the Maltese representative is tacking the internal market and consumer protection aspects, is bound to be a key point for the European Union during the coming year.

In the published document, Mr Muscat makes it clear that his main focus will be the welfare of consumers that have long been milked on roaming charges. The document was presented following a first exchange of views within the Internal Market and Consumer Affairs Committee in a hall packed to capacity.

“The latest Eurobarometer survey shows that 82 per cent of Maltese want the European Union to take action in this sector. We must do our duty and succeed in this project,” he said.

The document analyses the Commission’s proposal and illustrates the improvements that can be made.

During the past weeks, Mr Muscat engaged in a series of meetings with stakeholders. Locally, he met the Consumers’ Association, the Malta Communications Authority, Go Mobile and Vodafone Malta.

In Brussels, he was engaged in extensive meetings with the incoming German Presidency of the European Union, the European Commission, the Federation of European Consumers Association, the European Regulators Group, and a number of operators including Orange, O2, Telekom Austria, T-Mobile, Three, Vodafone Europe and GSM Europe.

Mr Muscat was also invited to be a keynote speaker during a seminar on the subject organised by the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels.