Spanish EPP member Pilar Del Castillo, the MEP in charge of steering the new rules through Parliament, said the legislation would make web-based services such as Skype and Whatsapp "more transparent and reliable for Europeans".



“Since the last review in 2009, the market for electronic communications services has dramatically changed," she said. "New players have emerged as a consequence of consumers and businesses increasingly relying on data and internet access services. With new rules we modernise the framework, by including these new players under its scope."



Better services



The rules aim to better protect users. For example, by making it easier for them to switch operators and receive compensation if there are problems. In addition, there are also measures to stimulate investment in very high capacity networks and boost mobile connectivity and 5G.