STORY
The Council has authorised the European Commission to open negotiations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia on extending the EU’s Roam Like at Home scheme to the Western Balkans. The decision would eventually allow travellers to use calls, texts and mobile data without extra roaming charges under the same conditions as at home.
The current roaming area covers the European Union, the European Economic Area countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, as well as Moldova and Ukraine. Extending the scheme to the Western Balkans is being presented by the Council as a practical sign of the region’s closer integration with the EU.
The Commission will now negotiate sectoral agreements with each of the six partners. Before any market opening takes place, each country will need to align with EU roaming rules and be assessed as meeting the necessary conditions, with the agreements tied to existing stabilisation and association arrangements.