European Parliament
President.
Question No 41 by Sarah Ludford 
Subject: Crime: EU-wide measures to prevent mobile phone theft
The number of mobile phones stolen in the EU, often by international gangs, is probably in the millions every year, and a recent Eurobarometer survey showed that one-fifth to one-third of people in most Member States fear being the victim of such a theft. In the UK reprogramming of a stolen mobile has been made illegal and there is now cooperation among UK operators through the GSM Association, with a shared database of IMEI numbers of stolen handsets so they can be immobilised. Continental operators have also joined but only around 20 out of a total of some 500 European operators are signed up.
What steps is the Commission taking to encourage the setting up of an EU-wide industry IMEI database equivalent to the UK scheme, so the crime can be tackled through barring of stolen handsets on an EU basis? Will the Commission consider putting forward a proposal, under Article 34 TEU, for an EU decision on a common offence of mobile phone reprogramming?

