The European Union on Tuesday said it had struck a deal to abolish mobile phone roaming charges in 2017. The agreement means that EU citizens that will travel in the future across European countries will not be surpised by steep charges for using their phones for calls and Internet browsing.

Coming into force on June 15, 2017, the deal means "you can use your mobile device when travelling in the EU paying the same prices as at home," the European Commission said in a statement.

"If you pay for a monthly volume of minutes, SMS and data in your country, any voice call, SMS and data session you make while travelling abroad in the EU will be deducted from that as if you were at home, with no extra charges," it added.

The deal needs formal approval by the bloc's parliament and 28 governments and was described as "provisional".