THE European Union is cracking down on mobile-phone line providers that charge travellers as much to receive a call abroad as to make one.

Vodafone charges its UK “pay monthly” subscribers 99p a minute to receive calls when they are in America. Receive a call on your mobile while you are in China and Vodafone’s charge increases to £1.25 a minute.

Even when you are in France, T-Mobile will charge 70p a minute to receive a call — almost as much as the 75p a minute it charges to make a call to the UK.

Now the EU is taking action, although so far only in the form of spreading the word. Concerned that its citizens are being fleeced by mobile companies, Brussels has launched a consumer website, unfortunately with a characteristically unwieldy address: http://europa.eu. int/information—society/activities/roaming.

This lists sample international roaming tariffs in an effort to increase competition and drive down charges.

Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for information society and media, said: “The cost of using your mobile phone abroad is hard to believe. This website aims to give the consumer the knowledge to make an informed choice, to enhance competition in the industry and to encourage fairer and clearer pricing.”

Click on the “view sample tariffs” link for the UK and you get tables of charges levied by the five domestic mobile-phone operators for a four-minute call from four destination countries — Italy, Malta, Portugal and Slovenia.

Leaving aside the strange choice of countries, the tables clearly show that one mobile operator can charge more than double what another does for the same call.

A four-minute call to the UK from Slovenia will cost you €8.22 (£5.57) with TMobile according to the EU, but €3.45 with O2.

The website also includes sample charges for calls made to your mobile while abroad. Take a four-minute call while lounging next to the pool at your Tuscan villa and Vodafone will charge you €4.40 for the privilege. Rival operator 3 would charge just €1.76.

While it is far from comprehensive, the EU site is a step in the right direction and includes much useful information for travellers.

For example, many people don’t know that they can switch network when they enter a foreign country.

Your domestic operator will have signed a roaming agreement with one particular operator, which might not be the cheapest. If other operators are available within that country, you can change the settings on your mobile phone to access a different network. So it is worth comparing the tariffs of the foreign networks on the EU site and checking your mobile operator’s website for details of its preferred networks before you travel.

If you travel extensively in one particular country you may want to buy a foreign Sim card to slot into your phone when you are there.

According to 0044 (0044.co.uk), a foreign Sim-card retailer, you can save up to 90% on the cost of your calls. A French Sim costs £29.99 and a US card $49.99 (£28.35) through the site.