Meeting of telecommunications operators of Western Balkans held – Options for reduction of roaming price sought

The European Commission organized a meeting of telecommunication operators from the Western Balkans in Brussels on Monday, January 15, 2018.

The meeting was organized by European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel, and the topic of the discussion was the telecommunications market in the region.

– We asked regional companies to explore the possibilities of reducing roaming charges in the countries of the Western Balkans – said a spokeswoman for the European Commission, Nathalie Vandystadt.

– We are asking regional companies to explore all possible options, such as voluntary commercial agreements or others, to reduce the roaming charges between the countries of the Western Balkans. Companies have agreed to go through their proposals together with the Commission over the coming weeks – Vandystadt said.

She reminded that Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, asked for EU's relations with the Western Balkans to strengthen and that the Commission is looking to, among other things, facilitate the process of changes and encourage progress in the field of telecommunications market in the region to that end.

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, whose country now heads the EU Council, announced that he would initially work towards reducing the charges in the Western Balkans, with the goal of abolishing the roaming tariffs among EU countries altogether.

The relevant plan will be presented at the next EU summit dedicated to the Western Balkans that will take place in May in Sofia.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Bruxelles

European Commission

EU Council

roaming

reducing roaming charges in Western Balkans

price of roaming

Nathalie Vandystadt

Mariya Gabriel

Jean Claude Juncker

Boyko Borisov