BARCELONA—European policy makers are set to debate this week new proposals laying out the concept of net neutrality, which in their present form, could allow telecommunications companies serving Europe more leeway in striking deals over Internet service than their U.S. counterparts.

The latest proposals by Latvia, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the council of the European Union, outline net neutrality in Europe should ensure similar traffic across networks is treated equally by telecoms operators.

But telecom operators will also be “free to enter into agreements” to deliver a better or faster service so long as the Internet connection for the majority of users isn’t “impaired” by such deals, according to a proposal document viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The proposals also agree to establish a minimum standard of Internet service and availability that telecom operators will be forced to provide by regulators.

The Latvian Presidency has been drawing up policy rules with a number of technical working groups since January on both the subject of net neutrality and on roaming, all as part of a vision to develop regulation for a single telecoms market in Europe. A spokesperson for the Latvian presidency didn’t respond on Tuesday to requests for comment on the latest proposals.

The preliminary rules will be put to the ambassadors or representatives of EU council member states for a vote on Wednesday. If passed, the proposals will then be debated by representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission and EU Council in a three-way dialogue over the coming weeks, before eventually becoming law if agreement is reached.