Telecoms company KPN has dropped a new promotional offer giving a 50% discount to 100% Dutch nationals following complaints from several French people who were told in a KPN shop they could not take advantage of the scheme, according to media reports.

The discount on the Hi Messaging subscription only applied to people with a Dutch passport or a residency permit of at least a year, newspapers reported.
Labour MEP Emine Bozkurt raised the issue directly with KPN, who said immediately the offer was a mistake and apologised.
Under EU law, nationality is irrelevant when it comes to taking out a mobile phone subscription or buying any product or service, Bozkurt said in a statement.

[Editor’s note: this story later transpired to be a mixture of rumours and misunderstandings. For the full story click here]