Citizens of Moldova will have roaming in the EU at home rates, since the roam like at home principle will be included in the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the EU.
The corresponding decision was signed in Chisinau by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization Vadim Gumene and the Deputy Head of the Department of Europe and Eastern Neighborhood of DG Trade Marco Düerkop following the results of the 10th annual meeting of the Moldova-EU Association Committee in the “Trade” configuration held in Chisinau. As noted by the Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization, Dumitru Alaiba, the Association Agreement between Moldova and the EU will be updated and will include roaming. As a result, Moldovan citizens traveling to the EU will have the same roaming rates as at home, they will be able to stay in touch with their loved ones and use mobile services without fear of additional costs. In addition, EU citizens will benefit greatly from this change, where they will be able to explore the beauty and culture of Moldova without being bothered by roaming costs, which will encourage travel and interaction with local communities. “Moldova's inclusion in roam like at home, which has already benefited millions of EU citizens, is an important aspect of the Single Market. Moldova is getting closer to the European Union! We are accelerating processes and tripling our efforts for a more prosperous future for our citizens,” wrote Dumitru Alaiba. The Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization clarified that citizens of Moldova will be able to use tariffs like at home when roaming in EU countries using the roam like at home principle. The same principle will be applied on the basis of reciprocity to EU citizens who will be roaming in Moldova. All national procedures for approving the signing of amendments to the Moldova-EU Association Agreement in the field of telecommunications and postal services have been completed. The decree of the President of Moldova authorizing the start of negotiations and the signing of the decision of the Association Committee was published in the Monitorul Oficial on October 5. In this context, today, October 6, representatives of Moldova and the European Union, represented by State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization Vadim Gumene and Deputy Head of the Department for Europe and Eastern Neighborhood of DG Trade Marco Düerkop, signed a corresponding decision. “This is another important step to ensure that our citizens can use quality services that meet European standards. The inclusion of Moldova in the EU roam like at home zone, which has already benefited millions of citizens from across the EU, represents a fundamental element of the single market,” said Vadim Gumene. According to him, the signing of the decision will promote competition in the field of electronic communications and the interests of end users in accordance with the best practices of the community. The introduction of long-term provisions will establish user rights in the field of electronic and postal communications, new aspects relating to roaming in public mobile networks, electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the domestic market. The draft Decision on the inclusion of roaming services in the Association Agreement between Moldova and the EU was adopted by the European Commission on September 1 in the context of the efforts of European telecom operators and our country to voluntarily reduce roaming tariffs from January 1, 2024. The inclusion of Moldova in the EU zone roam like at home is one of the key actions of the Moldova-EU Priority Action Plan, agreed in June 2023. This plan provides a map for the full implementation of the Free and Comprehensive Trade Area (DCFTA) between the European Union and Moldova and for the deeper integration of the Republic of Moldova into the EU single market. // 06.10.2023 — InfoMarket
