EU leaders have agreed to consider a proposal by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for the reduction or scrapping of mobile phone roaming charges at the EU summit in Brussels.
Mr Ahern made the proposal to cut or eliminate the charges on using a mobile phone outside a consumer's home country at a first session of the two-day summit.
Such a proposal would show citizens the EU was working in their interests, an Irish Government spokesman said.
"The Austrian presidency has agreed to an Irish insertion in the conclusions tomorrow to pursue the elimination or reduction of roaming charges across the European Union," the spokesman said.
"We will certainly take this up. This certainly has added-value for the European citizens," an Austrian spokesman said, adding his government - which holds the rotating EU presidency - would see if the plan could be taken further.
Such a move would strengthen the hand of EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding, who is due to present an update on roaming charges and outline a new regulation to bring down roaming charges on Tuesday.
Ms Reding has said roaming charges are too high. But mobile phone operators say they are already bringing down the fees. Earlier this week, the telecoms industry accused Ms Reding of acting in haste and creating legal uncertainty.
David Pringle, spokesman for GSM Europe, which represents operators such as Vodafone, said today: "We would like to see first is a complete impact assessment by the Commission before anything is done."
But Mr Ahern said the charges are were an "unnecessary evil" which should be scrapped.
"Mobile phone companies are always calling for liberalisation, then when we give it to them they don't like to have the game played back at them," Mr Ahern said.
The EU has long indicated its concern about roaming charges. In February 2005 the EU executive formally charged Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit and Vodafone for overcharging visitors from abroad whey they used mobile phones in Germany.
In July last year the commission again said it was not satisfied that roaming charges reflected effective competition and announced it would take action.