The European Parliament is commonly portrayed as a self-seeking bureaucracy. "Quite often this is a misconception", writes Konrad Niklewicz in Gazeta Wyborcza, "as MEPs frequently initiate reforms that benefit all Europeans". One example is the ordinance, passed in May 2007, introducing maximum rates for mobile phone roaming. In April last year, the Parliament introduced similar curbs on text messages and wireless data transmission charges. As a result, going on holidays somewhere to the EU, we no longer pay astronomical phone bills. MEPs have also targeted airlines. Last autumn, an ordinance was passed forcing air carriers to inform passengers from the very start about the full ticket price. Earlier, it was common practice, especially on the part of low-cost fliers, to add all kinds of extra charges to the end price, be it handling fees, airport taxes or extra charges for those paying online rather than cash. Also, in September 2007, the EU decided that railway operators would pay compensations for trains arriving behind schedule (for delays exceeding 60 minutes, the compensation amounts to 25 percent of the ticket price). As Niklewicz writes, “a malicious person could say that the MEPs decided to deal with all those issues – mobile phones, airplanes and trains – because they themselves, as heavy travellers and phone users, would benefit from the new laws. But even if that was indeed the case, several hundred million Europeans have benefited as well.”