The European Commission is proposing negotiations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia to integrate them into the EU’s ‘Roam Like at Home’ regime.
Once the agreements are finalised with each of the partners and once they have each fully aligned with EU roaming rules, people travelling between the EU and Western Balkans will be able to make calls, send text messages and use mobile data without roaming surcharges.
“Today, we are taking a significant step for the Western Balkan partners’ journey towards joining the EU’s roaming family. It is good news both for citizens and businesses,” said EC executive vice-president Henna Virkkunen.
The Commission is looking to upgrade existing voluntary roaming commitments between some mobile operators in the EU and the Western Balkans. These voluntary initiatives allow travellers to already benefit from reduced roaming charges when moving between the two regions. In addition, citizens of the Western Balkans benefit from reduced tariffs when travelling within the region, under the Western Balkans regional roaming agreement.
With the proposal for negotiating mandates adopted, the Commission will now seek Council authorisation to open negotiations with the Western Balkan partners. Once adopted by the Council, the Commission will negotiate bilateral agreements with each Western Balkan partner. When concluded successfully, these agreements will pave the way for the Western Balkans to become part of the ‘EU’s Roam Like at Home’ area.
