Roaming costs between the European Union (EU) and the Western Balkans will be reduced, and the new prices will come into effect on October 1st.
In accordance with the Declaration signed in December last year, 38 operators from the member states of the EU and the countries of the Western Balkans recently determined the upper price of data roaming in both directions between the EU and the Western Balkans. The new prices come into force on October 1st.
Namely, in December last year, on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Tirana, service providers from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia, Germany, and Austria signed a Declaration on the voluntary reduction of data roaming costs from October 1st of this year. Among them is the A1 Austrian Group, which includes the Slovenian operator A1 Slovenia.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, pointed out at the time that this is good for the economy, tourism, and people.
The signatories of the Declaration agreed that the reduction of roaming costs will come into force on October 1st, 2023. They gave themselves a few more months to agree on the upper price of data transmission in both directions between the EU and the Western Balkans.
As announced a few days ago in Brussels, the highest levels of retail prices for one gigabyte of data will be reduced as follows: on October 1st, 2023 to 18 euros, on October 1st, 2026 to 14 euros, and on October 1st, 2028 to 9 euros.
Neighborhood and Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi welcomed the operator’s agreement.
“The reduction in roaming prices between the EU and the Western Balkans from October 1st this year will benefit citizens and businesses of the EU and the Western Balkans. We are committed to doing everything we can to speed up the true integration of the Western Balkans into our single market,” he emphasized.
In Brussels, they expect that setting a price cap will reduce roaming prices for users traveling between the EU and the Western Balkans. The price cap encourages and simplifies business, cultural, tourist, and other exchanges between the EU and the Western Balkans, and strengthens ties between neighboring regions, they believe.
According to the signed Declaration, each individual operator decides how to reduce costs, for example through discounts, special packages, or new tariffs.
Lower-cost mobile data will need to be available to the widest possible range of end users without the barriers or conditions associated with home network packages.
This is one of the measures to bring the region closer to the EU. The costs of mobile roaming in the countries of the Western Balkans, where many Slovenians also travel, are significantly higher compared to the Eurotariff that is in force in the Union.
