CHEAPER CALLS FROM THE EU FROM TOMORROW

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 30th Jul 2007

Mobile phone companies have to cut the amount they charge for making and receiving calls by 70% by Tuesday. The EU legislation on mobile roaming charges comes into action on Wednesday and will mean significant price cuts for North East holidaymakers.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat MEP for the North East Fiona Hall said:

"When people go on holiday abroad this August they will see that instead of paying something like £2 pounds a minute simply for receiving a call, they will now only be charged around 16p a minute. There will also a massive reduction in the cost of making a call when abroad - down to 34p a minute this summer, and even cheaper next year .

"Action at an EU level has come to the rescue of consumers, who had been exploited and manipulated by the mobile phone companies for far too long."