BRUSSELS — José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, called on Wednesday for an end to the high fees charged for making mobile phone calls across national borders, seizing on one of the few truly popular European initiatives at a time of rising skepticism about the European Union.

In his State of the Union address before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Mr. Barroso threw his support behind a plan that would phase out roaming fees starting in 2014 as part of a wider overhaul of the telecommunications industry.

European authorities have already “dramatically brought down roaming costs,” he said, and the latest proposal would go further to “lower prices for consumers and present new opportunities for companies.”

The European Union already caps roaming fees, and Neelie Kroes, the union’s commissioner responsible for telecommunications, suggested in May that the fees be ended. Mr. Barroso’s support for breaking down barriers between telecommunications markets should give the initiative added momentum, but it comes as France, Germany and Britain have grown wary of giving Mr. Barroso and the commission more powers.