EUROPEANS TRAVELLING WITHIN the 28 EU member states will no longer be cut off from online services they have paid for back home, such as films, sporting broadcasts, music, e-books or games.

MEP Brian Hayes said that an agreement has been reached this week between the European Parliament and Malta, which acts on behalf of all EU States in its role as the bloc’s current holder of the rotating presidency.

The new measures will apply only to online fee-based services. Free services will be exempt and it will remain up to the provider to decide if they will be made available across the EU.

Previously, streaming services such as Netflix were blocked when you attempted to access them from a different country.

Hayes said: “This agreement is a first step towards modernising copyright rules in the EU, and comes after the abolition of roaming charges for mobile phones came into effect last year.

“While this agreement still must be formally approved, this is another step towards breaking down barriers in the single market of 500 million people and good news for people travelling to other EU countries on business, holidays, or to study.”

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