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The European Parliament on Thursday endorsed a sweeping package of EU telecommunications reforms, including a much-awaited measure to end roaming charges for cross-border mobile phone use. A plenary sitting of parliament in Brussels voted to ban mobile phone surcharges which hit users as they cross national borders in the European Union — a ban to take effect by December 2015. If enacted, the legislation would require mobile phone companies to offer roam like at home packages to cover the whole of the EU, or allow customers to subscribe to separate service providers without changing their original SIM card. The vote was welcomed by EU Commissioner for the digital agenda Neelie Kroes, who has been fighting for the reforms in a bid to dismantle roadblocks lying in the way of a common telecommunications market.