British holidaymakers face three more years of being ripped off by extortionate mobile phone 'roaming charges ' after Brussels failed to scrap them as promised . EU governments agreed that the roaming charges for mobile phone users abroad should stay in place until at least until the end of 2018 . The decision comes despite MEPs voting for an end to the charges which they said were too high . The European Parliament had said roaming charges should be scrapped by the end of 2015 . British holidaymakers face three more years of being ripped off by extortionate 'roaming charges ' for using their mobile phones abroad . But at a meeting in Brussels , EU governments tonight agreed to allow large mobile phone firms to continue levying extra charges on travellers for at least another three years , when the situation could be reviewed . Governments said consumers should be given a small roaming allowance to use outside their home country from the middle of next year , but any usage above it should still be subject to further charges . The decision is a major blow to British tourists travelling to Europe . A recent study showed that the average British person spends an extra £120 on their mobile phone on each trip abroad . The issue of scrapping roaming charges has seen the EU come head-to-head with the telecoms industry , who argue it will affect their revenues . Tonight 's decision comes despite the European Parliament 's decision to scrap roaming charges by the end of 2015 . Some members of the parliament immediately criticised the decision . The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats said : 'The only winners from it are national telecoms operators themselves . Member states should hang their heads in shame . ' European consumer groups , speaking through an umbrella organisation , the BEUC , condemned the plan as 'outrageous ' . 'Roaming is not justifiable in a single market , ' they said . The member states must now agree a common position with both the European Parliament and Commission before changes take effect , so negotiations in the coming months are likely to be hard-fought . Current charge caps are €0.24 ( 20p ) per minute for calls , €0.08 ( 7p ) per text message and €0.45 ( 37p ) per megabyte of data , all excluding VAT . From July 2014 those will be reduced to €0.19 ( 16p ) per minute for calls , €0.06 ( 5p ) per text and €0.20 ( 17p ) per MB of data . Receiving a text in Europe has been free since 2009 .
EU governments said the roaming charges should stay in place until the end of 2015 . Comes despite MEPs voting for an end to the charges by 2018 . The European Parliament said roaming charges were too high .