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Telecom operators in EU and Moldova to reduce roaming tariffs from 2024

Telecoms operators from the European Union and the Republic of Moldova have signed a joint declaration, to lower roaming charges for businesses and citizens travelling between the two areas. The European Commission and Moldovan authorities facilitated the voluntary declaration, published on 31 May 2023, reflecting the shared goal to ensure a long-term roaming arrangement and bring Moldova closer to the EU Single Market. The EU supports this process and Moldova’s integration into the EU roaming regime through the EU4Digital Initiative.

The joint declaration will ensure lower roaming tariffs between the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Republic of Moldova in the short term. As a result, citizens and businesses in the EU Member States, the EEA and the Republic of Moldova will be able to travel across borders while staying connected at affordable rates. This means they will soon enjoy lower charges on their calls, data and texts. They will be able to stay in touch with friends and family more easily, and businesses will also benefit from reduced costs.

The European Union’s EU4Digital Initiative has been supporting efforts to achieve a secure and sustainable digital and telecommunications infrastructure across the countries in the Eastern Partnership since 2019, noted Andrejs Dombrovskis, EU4Digital Telecom Rules Stream Leader. He was delighted at the news of the joint declaration.

Signatories of the declaration agreed to a number of common goals, which citizens will begin to benefit from as of 1 January 2024. They commit to, among other things:

  • Providing affordable retail roaming offers for those travelling between the EU/EEA and the Republic of Moldova;
  • Agreeing an upper retail price-cap, to be announced by 1 October 2023;
  • Assessing a wholesale roaming cap for the provision of roaming services at or below the agreed retail cap;
  • Renegotiating wholesale roaming agreements, where required, to take into account the reduction of international termination rates and enable the provision of roaming services at or below the agreed retail cap;
  • Ensuring that retail offers are available to the widest number of end users.

The declaration will apply until 31 December 2025 and could be renewed after that date. The declaration is voluntary and remains open for EU/EEA and Moldovan operators who wish to sign at any time. Among the first signatories on the EU side are Orange group, DT group and Telefonica group, covering several Member States in the EU. On the Moldovan side, signatures include Orange Moldova, Moldtelecom and Moldcell.

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