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By Genc Pollo , former minister and deputy At the Western Balkans summit, which was held last week in Tirana, an announcement stood out from the others as it was not of a general nature and was not projected in the future: the Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Várhelyi stated that starting from July 1 roaming charges in Western Balkans will be zero. So mobile phone users will no longer pay extra salty charges when calling from another country in the region. As Mr. Várhelyi this was achieved within the framework of the region's Common Regional Market (the latter is a key product of the Berlin Process initiated in 2014 by German Chancellor Angela Merkel). A special role, alongside the European Commission, was also played by the Regional Cooperation Council (Regional Cooperation Council) based in Sarajevo, which coordinated the measures between the authorities of the six countries of the Western Balkans.
Roaming zero has a great Cambodia WhatsApp Number Data impact on travelers in the region as today's cell phone is not yesterday's phone but a multifunctional personal office that works constantly. In 2010, when I was the minister responsible for telecommunications, I followed with interest the debates in the European Parliament to realize zero roaming throughout the European Union. A group of MEPs, one of whom is a friend of mine, took this initiative with passion. They aimed to prove that the EU was not a distant and cold bureaucratic construct for the population; the elimination of roaming charges for mobile phones was an ideal opportunity for citizens from Bulgaria to Ireland to feel the benefits of the Union in their wallets. The agreement between the Parliament, the Council Commission (member states) was reached, the roaming fee was reduced year by year and in June 2017 it became zero.
I found the initiative of the MEPs inspiring and I thought that such a measure could also be taken with the neighbors of the Western Balkans; in a second step it could be realized between our region and the European Union. The specialists prepared an initial memo for me with the legal steps and economic consequences. Next, I wrote to the Regional Cooperation Council to organize a consultation on this issue between the six Balkan counterpart ministers. The only one who answered me, even in a bilateral way, agreeing in principle, was my Kosovar colleague Besim Beqaj, a competent and active official. From Belgrade, Skopje, Podgorica and Sarajevo I had only silence.
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