The European Commission vice-president responsible for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, has slammed mobile phone roaming charges in Europe as “economic madness,” and harmful to consumers and businesses alike.

Her comments follow the publication of an EU survey of 28,000 mobile users, and how they change behaviour when roaming. 47 percent of them said they would never use mobile internet in another country, while 90 percent said they would not use e-mail the way they did at home. More than a quarter turn their phones off completely when abroad.

Europe’s mobile networks are resisting more competition. They say it will hurt revenues.