The European Commission has set an ambitious target of abolishing roaming rates in the EU for mobile users by the summer of 2007.

Under a new strategy published yesterday, the commission plans to abolish all charges for consumers receiving a call when travelling abroad in the EU. It also plans to introduce a "home pricing" principle whereby consumers travelling abroad are charged only the standard rates applicable in their home country, said the commissioner for information society, Viviane Reding.

The commission is proposing to introduce an EU-wide regulation to force mobile phone operators to reduce their roaming rates - the fees that mobile firms charge consumers when they use their phone abroad.

The proposed regulation being drafted by the commission would include a wholesale price cap on the amount operators charge each other to carry and terminate calls from customers, as well as retail price controls to ensure that the savings are passed onto mobile phone consumers.

The European Regulators Group (ERG), which advises the commission on telecommunications issues, said yesterday that wholesale roaming charges between operators should be cut to about 30 cent a minute from about 70 to 80 cent at present. A cut of this magnitude would probably halve the costs to mobile users.

Ms Reding said she hoped the new regulation could be in force by the summer of 2007 to ensure that consumers did not face "unjustified" roaming charges while on their holidays next year.

However, the regulation will require the support of member states and the European parliament before it enters into law and it is possible that divisions could emerge before the regulation is even drafted.

The mobile phone operators that stand to lose most from the new regulation are mainly based in holiday destinations such as Spain. This has caused the Spanish regulator to oppose a common stance with other national regulators.

It is possible that lobbying by big mobile firms such as Telefónica or Orange could persuade certain governments to oppose the measure when it is debated at the council.

The mobile phone industry is strongly opposing the measure, which Ireland's biggest operator Vodafone says is "intrusive and prescriptive".

Meanwhile, a survey published by the commission yesterday shows that the cost of a four minute call to an Irish mobile user travelling abroad in another EU state can vary from €1.92 in Finland to €9.72 in Malta.