Start of negotiations on abolishing roaming in the EU for the Western Balkans approved, decision tomorrow

Ambassadors of European Union member states have approved the start of negotiations on the abolition of roaming with the Western Balkan countries, Radio Free Europe (RFE) reported, citing unofficial confirmation from the EU Council.

The decision concerns the opening of negotiations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia on roaming in public mobile communications networks.

According to announcements, the EU Council will formally adopt the decision tomorrow, after which negotiations can begin with each country in the region individually.

European officials expect the negotiations to be concluded by the end of this year, and ideally, roaming between the Western Balkan countries and the European Union could be abolished next year.

However, European officials emphasize that everything depends on the willingness of the countries in the region to move forward in these negotiations.

The Cypriot EU presidency announced that "the expansion of the roaming-free zone is a clear sign of commitment to the region."

"We look forward to the formal adoption of the decision authorizing the opening of negotiations on agreements," said a spokesman for the Cypriot presidency.

In February, the European Commission proposed abolishing roaming for the Western Balkans.

This would mean that for citizens of that region, when using a mobile phone in the EU, there are no additional costs for calls, SMS messages and internet use, but domestic tariffs apply.

The same rule applies to calls and messages that users receive while abroad.