The President of the European Commission announced the accession of Ukraine to the single roaming space of the EU
On September 14, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen from Strasbourg left for a working visit to Kyiv, where she will meet with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, and among other issues on the agenda is Ukraine’s accession to the European system of free roaming.
Last week, Ukraine took an important step in further integration with the EU’s Single Digital Market — it joined the ‘Digital Europe’ program with a total budget of 7.5 billion euros. At the same time, the EU emphasized its commitment to consider the possibilities for a long-term agreement on the exclusion of roaming charges between the EU and Ukraine. And now Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed the unchanged plans to involve Ukraine in the roaming space of the EU.
We will empower 🇺🇦 to make the most of its potential.
Building on the success of the solidarity lanes to ensuring seamless access to the Single Market.
Bringing Ukraine into our 🇪🇺 free roaming area.
I am going to Kyiv today to discuss all this with President @ZelenskyyUa pic.twitter.com/uYxf41CIr6
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 14, 2022
Since June 15, 2017, a free roaming zone has been operating in the European Union between operators of the European Economic Area, which includes EU countries, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland. Back in May, Ukraine initiated negotiations on joining the single roaming zone, and in July, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, among others, discussed this issue with EU High Representative Josep Borrell.
Previously, the EU introduced free roaming for refugees from Ukraine, and the ‘big three’ operators in Ukraine (Vodafone, Kyivstar and lifecell) provide packages of free roaming services within their own tariffs as a social service.
As soon as Ukraine joins the EU roaming space, Ukrainians traveling throughout the European Union will be able to make calls and use mobile internet at home rates without additional charges.
