(Telecompaper) The European Union Council has formally approved new rules to end mobile roaming charges and put in place net neutrality regulation as of mid-2017. The Council said its position at first reading was adopted without discussion at a meeting of the Competitiveness Council. The European Parliament is now expected to adopt the text at its plenary session in late October, with the regulation entering into force three days after its publication in the EU Official Journal, which will probably take place in November. The EU has therefore taken another key step on the way to abolishing roaming charges and implementing the first EU-wide provisions to safeguard open internet access after the compromise between the member states and the European Parliament reached in July.