The European Commission requested Germany’s telecoms regulator amend or withdraw a proposal on mobile termination rates (MTRs) for the fifth time — the latest example of a falling out between Brussels and a German regulator.

Bundesnetzagentur, or BNetza, proposed MTR rates for VoIP provider Sipgate Wireless that are up to 80 per cent higher than in most other EU members states, said the commission.

“I am very concerned by the fact that Germany continues to ignore the reasonable demands of the European Commission – setting it apart from all other Member States. Its approach towards mobile termination rates flies in the face of the internal market, and is detrimental to consumers,” blasted outgoing EU digital chief Neelie Kroes.

If BNetza sticks to its position then the commission can initiate legal proceedings against it.

The commission previously issued a recommendation in April requesting the German regulator withdraw or amend its measure where it set the methodology for Sipgate’s price cap that deviated from the commission’s recommended model.

An investigation followed in May, during which the German regulator failed to provide reasons why it should be exempt from adopting the commission’s own methodology.

A media report over the current disagreement surfaced earlier this month.

But this is not the first time this year that Brussels has crossed swords with a German regulator.

At the start of the year, the commission got into a demarcation dispute with the German competition authority over the proposed acquisition of E-Plus by rival Telefonica Deutschland, preferring to keep control of the process itself.