The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, anticipated this Tuesday a “symbolic meeting” with the first summit of the European Union (EU) with the Western Balkans of the region, announcing the signing of the agreement to reduce additional roaming fees .
“It will be an important meeting, a symbolic meeting, [porque é] first time that an EU-Western Balkans summit has been held in a country in this region,” said Charles Michel, speaking to reporters at the entrance to the high-level meeting in Tirana today.
“I am absolutely convinced that the future of our children will be safer and more prosperous with the Western Balkans. [Albânia, Bósnia-Herzegovina, Macedónia do Norte, Montenegro, Kosovo e Sérvia] within the EU and we are working hard together to move forward,” guaranteed the official, alluding to the impasse over joining the community bloc.
The first EU summit with the Western Balkans in the region takes place today in the Albanian capital, Tirana, and will focus on the impacts of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, with the aim of achieving a new diplomatic dynamism.
In the first time that a Western Balkan country hosts this high-level meeting, the Heads of State and Government of the EU Member States, as well as Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia , after the Serbian president backtracked on his intention to miss the meeting due to tensions with the Kosovar prime minister.
Speaking upon his arrival at the meeting, Charles Michel announced the signing of an “agreement on ‘roaming’, a concrete achievement” of the agreement reached about a year ago in the Slovenian city of Brdo.
This is a regional agreement to eliminate additional charges for ‘roaming’, the service that allows you to receive and make calls or use mobile data in regions outside the coverage of the contracted operator.
In the EU, since 2017, there is a regime that ends roaming fees, which allows you to use mobile services -phone calls, text messages and Internet browsing- in any country of the European Union paying the same as in your Member State.
With the recent extension, this regime is now in force in the EU until 2032.
A similar regime is expected to enter into force in the Western Balkan countries on October 1, 2023.
“It means that for businesses, people and tourism, this is an important step in the right direction,” commented Charles Michel.
The summit will also address the energy crisis, “derived from the attack launched by Russia against Ukraine”, with a view to “strengthening cooperation with the region”, said the president of the European Council.
Organized to reaffirm the importance of expanding the bloc to this region, this summit takes place in the context of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis.
Portugal is represented at the meeting by the Prime Minister, António Costa.
The EU has been developing a policy to support the progressive integration of the Western Balkan countries.
In 2013, Croatia became the first country in the Western Balkans to join the EU, with Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania officially candidate countries.
Meanwhile, negotiations have started and accession procedures have been opened with Montenegro and Serbia, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential accession candidates.
Source: TSF
