The pandemic will not affect the abolition of roaming

roaming fee

The decision on the final abolition of the roaming fee in the Western Balkans will start on 1 July 2021 and the Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications states that the next step in this area is to reduce roaming costs between the Western Balkans and the EU.

Namely, at the meeting of the Working Group of the Western Balkans for roaming, it was announced that from 1 July 2021, roaming between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Albania and Serbia will be abolished.

In 2014, Serbia signed an agreement with Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina on reducing the prices of roaming services, while in April 2019, new agreement on lowering roaming prices in the Western Balkans was signed, which was joined by Albania. The implementation of the Agreement took place through several phases, so that in the previous period, the prices of mobile services were reduced every six months from 1 July 2019 until June 30, 2021, and then a complete equalization of prices with domestic traffic prices will take place.

The Ministry hopes that the application of the European principle of roaming at home will significantly facilitate communication and business in the region, but also enable additional connection with the EU market.

The Ministry also says that they, together with the competent ministries and regulatory bodies from the region, are working quickly on the implementation of the plan to abolish roaming, and that the current pandemic will not affect the abolition of roaming costs in the region.

Matic said that, within the realization of the goals of the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans, after the abolition of roaming costs in the Western Balkans, it is planned to take steps to reduce roaming costs between the economies of the Western Balkans and the EU. prepared by the end of 2021 in accordance with the Action Plan for the Development of the Common Regional Market for the period from 2021 to 2024, which was adopted at the meeting of leaders within the Balkan Process held in Sofia on 10 November 2020.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you need additional information regarding the subject, feel free to contact us by email office@ncrlawyers.com or by phone +381677049551.

Nemanja is attorney at law and founder of the law firm NCR Lawyers. Additionally, Nemanja is on the permanent list of arbitrators for the Commodity Exchange in Novi Sad and is also a member of the Belgrade Arbitration Center.

In his career, Nemanja has been involved in numerous complex legal transactions and has collaborated with clients from various industries. Dynamic and innovative in finding the best solutions for clients, Nemanja primarily focuses on corporate law, dispute resolution, and arbitration. Additionally, Nemanja’s legal expertise includes the protection of intellectual property for both domestic and international clients.

He completed his undergraduate and master’s studies at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade. Part of his master’s studies was completed at the Europa Institute in Saarbrücken as part of the Erasmus+ program.

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