EU, W. Balkan mobile operators sign declaration on reduction of roaming charges

TIRANA - A part of EU-based mobile telephony companies signed with Western Balkan operators on Tuesday in Tirana a declaration on reduction of roaming charges, and subscribers are expected to feel the first benefits from as early as October 2023, Telekom Srbija CEO Vladimir Lucic said.

At an EU-Western Balkans summit in Tirana, Lucic signed the declaration on behalf of Telekom Srbija Group, the largest telecommunications operator in the Western Balkans.

The declaration expresses the operators' strong commitment to further work on defining a sliding price scale for Internet data transfers in May 2023, with the price reduction to take effect in October 2023.

Activities aimed at a significant reduction of mobile roaming charges between EU member states and Western Balkan countries began after full implementation of a Roaming Like Home regime within the Western Balkan region on July 1, 2021, Lucic said.

The initiative was coordinated by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) with support from the European Commission and the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations.

The work on the declaration itself was coordinated by Deutsche Telekom - this year, it held numerous meetings with several EU and Western Balkan operators, which worked together with EC and RCC representatives on harmonising the text of the document.