A 'roam like at home' digital strategy allowing EU citizens to pay domestic mobile phone rates while travelling across the 28-member bloc should be in place by June 15, Digital Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia told MEPs today.
"We see completion of the digital single market as fundamental," Dr Mallia told members of the European Parliament's committee on industry, research and energy.
Dr Mallia was discussing the Maltese presidency's priorities for the telecoms sector with committee members.
The June 15 deadline had already been announced previously, and Dr Mallia reassured MEPs that the Maltese presidency had every intention of sticking to it.
The good-natured meeting saw several MEPs express confidence that Dr Mallia and his colleague Chris Agius, who was seated beside him and explained Malta's research sector priorities, would do a good job during Malta's six-month period as EU Council president.
Dr Mallia had clearly done his homework, with a number of MEPs remarking that they had met with the minister in the previous months to discuss priorities.
He told committee members that Malta recognised the importance of an efficient rollout of 5G technology, and said he was working closely with Estonia - which will assume the EU presidency in June - to ensure continuity.
Asked by Labour MEP Miriam Dalli what he intended to do about large disparities between member states in the cost of licensing telecom spectrum, Dr Mallia acknowledged price variations but argued that spectrum was a "limited and finite" resource.
Discussing research sector priorities, Mr Agius said that Malta was keen to identify areas in which to eliminate red tape and reduce the amount of reporting duplication that occurred.
Perhaps mindful that Malta's research and development investment remains far below that of larger EU member states, he argued that it was important to try and "bridge the innovation divide".
Mr Agius also told MEPs that although Malta's space capacity was "still in its infancy", it would strive to give the sector the importance it deserved.