The European Union has been accused of alienating itself from the citizens of the bloc, preferring to concentrate on macro matters such as, of course, the potential of Greece exiting the EU.

While the people of Europe have expressed concern about the threat of terrorism, increased migration and poverty, the powers that be have moved towards drafting more and more policies that, in citizens’ eyes, have zero effect on them.

While all eyes are focused on what will happen in Greece (the deadline to pay their dues expired at midnight), an important deal was hammered out yesterday which will finally put an end to the exorbitant charges that European Union citizens are exposed to when making calls, sending texts or accessing data.  Perhaps the biggest injustice of the whole system was the fact that two people could be subscribers to the same company, albeit in different countries, and still have to pay exorbitant amounts just to make a phone call, even though the person who is outside of the home country might be using the same company’s network.

The deal, which will see roaming charges abolished by June 2017 – two years’ time – has yet to be rubber stamped by the European Parliament and individual EU nations, but the EU’s Guenther Oettinger believes there will be no hitches and that things will go through as planned. The transition period is set to begin in April next year, and charges will be some four times lower than they are at present. While the deal will be of most benefit to individual customers, it will also be of benefit to businesses.

EU citizens are becoming increasingly more disenfranchised as the EU continues with its unique experiment in democracy. At times it has been citizen friendly, at others more business friendly, and at other times, it has seemed to be mired in internecine politics which has resulted in alienation from its citizens.

Deals like these are what the people of Europe want. Issues such as these directly affect them and the bloc should do more to concentrate on similar efforts in the future. No doubt, mobile phone operators’ revenues and profits will be slashed, but the removal of roaming fees will create a more level playing field and could actually encourage subscribers to use their phones more while abroad.

The agreement is the culmination of years of campaigning to cut roaming charges and to define the EU nations' approach to regulating internet traffic - particularly in light of the US adoption of net-neutrality rules.

It largely follows proposals put forward in March this year, which analysts said were a weaker version of what European regulators had originally promised.

The agreement will be presented to the EU's member states between July and December this year for formal adoption.

As one Member of the European Parliament - Guy Verhofstadt – put it, the "great roaming rip-off" will finally to be brought to an end. This deal is a victory for the citizens of Europe.