EU Regulation 2016/2286 begins as follows:

Pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 531/2012, roaming providers should not levy any surcharge additional to the domestic retail price on roaming customers in any Member State, for any regulated roaming call made or received, any regulated roaming SMS message sent or any regulated data roaming service used, including MMS messages, subject to a ‘fair use policy’.

The abolition of roaming charges came into force on the 15th June and means that UK citizens traveling across the EU will not be subject to an extortionate bill when they get back home.

It is important to note that the “fair use policy” described above does mean that charges will still apply when data and other limits are exceeded but nevertheless this has been rightly recognised as a huge success for the EU and represents a tangible benefit for citizens. Explaining roaming charges to our children in the future will be like trying to explain a dial-up modem or floppy disks.

Of course the UK is planning to leave the European Union and so the question is whether UK citizens will still be able to benefit from the absence of roaming charges after Brexit.

The truth is that, for now, no one can say for certain and the outcome will only become apparent once negotiations are concluded. Even Switzerland, a country that has close relations with the EU despite not being a full member, is not automatically covered by the Regulations.

From a legal perspective it is important to note that the legislation takes the form of Regulations. This means that they are directly applicable across the EU and are not subject to implementation via domestic law. To put it another way, in the event of a ‘hard-Brexit’ the Regulations would automatically cease to apply.

If the UK wants to maintain this advantage after March 2019 then the issue will have to be on the table when Theresa May heads to Brussels. It may be that this can be resolved easily through reciprocation: the UK will abolish roaming charges for EU visitors in line with the Regulations if UK citizens can also take advantage when traveling in Europe. With around 21.5 million visitors to the UK each year originating from Europe there is certainly incentive for the EU to strike a deal on this point.

However UK residents make around 47 million visits to the continent per year themselves and so there is scope for the EU to play hardball and gain further advantages in return for maintaining the status quo with respect to roaming charges.

How this will exactly play out is difficult to say but the issue provides some scope for the wide-ranging nature of the negotiations in general. Something that appears to be as simple as roaming charges may be played off against other topics including finance, immigration or citizenship as both sides seek to get the best deal.

As every detail of an exit agreement needs to be ironed out, the deadline feels closer and closer.