RFE/RL: Western Balkans without roaming; How much will you save?

For a month now, Moldovan residents have not had to worry about their mobile data accidentally being left on when traveling to the European Union and being greeted by an astronomical phone bill upon returning home.

Namely, Moldova, together with Ukraine, became part of the European Union's roaming system in January, although the country itself is not a member.

Veaceslav Groza, a Moldovan urologist who has been traveling to Romania for almost seven years, where he also works as a urologist, tells RFE/RL that "mobile phone tariffs have become cheaper and more affordable" since his country was integrated into the EU roaming zone.

The fear of a single call costing you an astronomical phone bill could soon be a thing of the past in the Western Balkan countries, which are also candidates for membership. The European Commission has proposed opening negotiations that would give Western Balkan residents the same roaming rights as the EU.

"Surprise bills or higher costs while traveling are something we no longer know within the EU. Today we have proposed to extend this to the Western Balkans," said European Union Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos.

Better economic opportunities

The advantage of traveling without roaming could be significant given that Bosnia and Herzegovina's most important trading partner remains the European Union, as previously announced by the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina "with more than 73 percent of exports and 66 percent of imports."

When it comes to tourist visits, guests from Croatia are the most common in BiH, but vice versa. Bosnian citizens also often travel to countries where they do not have visa restrictions or where they have a strong diaspora, such as Germany, Austria, and Slovenia.

The European Union countries are also the primary destination for emigration of Bosnian citizens. Neighboring Croatia, also an EU country, is first on the list of countries where BiH citizens live. According to data from the BiH Ministry of Security, over 363 thousand BiH citizens live in this country.

Also, over 333 thousand BiH citizens live in Germany.

The Swedish Embassy told Radio Free Europe that strengthening ties between people has been a long-standing Swedish priority. Around 60.000 BiH citizens live in this country.

"Gradually building stronger ties between people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union is beneficial for everyone and is something that Sweden supports and promotes," said the Embassy of Sweden in BiH.

They emphasized that they had previously supported similar measures, such as the previous agreement on reducing roaming between the EU and the Western Balkans.

"Because they contribute to practical steps that advance the EU enlargement process, support economic convergence and reduce obstacles for Swedish companies. In addition, Sweden's foreign policy towards the region emphasizes that the rule of law and reforms are at the heart of EU accession, while connectivity and digital integration are tools for stability and growth. The Roaming Initiative is in line with these priorities."

At the summit of the European Union and the Western Balkans countries held in Tirana in December 2022, a declaration was signed committing the countries to gradually reduce roaming fees. The lower tariffs started in 2023.

According to the declaration, the price of one gigabyte should be 14 euros in 2026.

What is 'Roaming like at home'?

One of the most successful stories of the single digital market, as Boštjan Koritnik, the then Slovenian Minister of Public Administration, once called it, "Roam Like at Home" has been in force in the European Union since 2017.

This European Commission program is an EU regulation that allows the use of mobile phones in other member states at the same prices as in the home country.

This means that when using your mobile phone in the EU, there are no additional roaming charges for calls, SMS messages or internet usage, i.e. domestic rates are charged. The same rule applies to all calls and messages you receive when you are abroad.

However, until the country enters the roaming system, the daily dose of roaming fees for EU card users in BiH can be between seven and 15 euros per day for the internet. For users of cards of BiH telecom operators, prices vary from seven euros per gigabyte to 12 euros for travel packages, which is usually recommended. Otherwise, the cost of, for example, using the internet can increase significantly.

But, in the future, they could also be reduced. For example, if a user of an average package from one of the three BiH operators uses one gigabyte of mobile data while traveling, they could spend from 35 to 75 euros in five days. However, without roaming, all costs would be reduced to monthly bills, which means that they could pay as little as around 13 euros for the entire month at current prices.

Facilitation for passengers

The headache of thinking about cards, additional data and bills could end with roaming first for those who travel frequently and move between the Western Balkan countries and the EU.

Previous research has shown that 81 percent of travelers from the European Union felt a benefit after roaming was abolished across the bloc in 2017.

When planning a vacation, price plays a big role and every additional item influences the decision, says Amel Lizde, owner of Checkpoint Travel, a Mostar-based agency whose specialty is tailor-made individual vacations.

"The very fact that they have to think about roaming presents a psychological barrier, even if the cost in the end is not huge," he explains.

It happens, he says, that guests are left without internet immediately upon arrival or receive unexpectedly high bills later, "which creates a negative first impression."

"The abolition of roaming between BiH and the EU would remove a silent but real obstacle to travel and further facilitate the arrival of European guests, as well as the operations of domestic companies that cooperate with the EU market," adds Lizde.

How is the negotiation process going?

Since July 2021, citizens of the Western Balkan countries have been benefiting from lower tariffs when traveling within the region, which were achieved under the Western Balkans Regional Roaming Agreement.

Thus, users of all three telecom operators from Bosnia and Herzegovina no longer pay additional fees when using their phones in Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo.

However, in order for this service to be available throughout the European Union, the European Commission first seeks approval from the EU Council to open negotiations with partners from the Western Balkans. Once the request is approved, bilateral agreements begin.

Upon finalization of the agreement and full alignment with EU roaming rules, citizens traveling between the EU and the Western Balkans will be able to make calls, send messages, and use mobile data without additional roaming fees.