News Archive
02 October 2023 | News
Bregu: EU-Western Balkans roaming reductions in force as of today
TIRANA, October 2, 2023 — In a significant stride towards regional cooperation and affordable mobile communication, the EU-Western Balkans Roaming Declaration, signed at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tirana on December 6, 2022, has officially taken effect, marking 1 October 2023, as a date of change.
30 June 2023 | News
Bregu: Crucial step to reinforcing critical digital capacities in our region is phasing in EU policies and programmes
Brussels – “Today’s accession to the Digital Europe Programme for four economies from our region is a major development and crucial step to reinforce critical digital capacities in EU and WB. What once seemed almost utopic is now a reality since 2021 - with the regional roaming fees eliminated. We continue to keep our promises on the roaming agenda. During the first Regulatory ...
05 June 2023 | News
Bregu: Our region deserves a re-energised enlargement process and membership advantages in advance of full accession
Budva – Ministers of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) commended the efforts of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in fostering regional cooperation and integration of the Western Balkan economies into the European Union (EU), focusing on the set of specific achievements in the past twelve months: RCC-coordinated EU-WB roaming ...
25 May 2023 | News
RCC Board approves organisation’s Annual Report 2022/23, and adopts Financial Report 2022
Sarajevo – The participants of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Board approved the organisation’s Annual Report 2022/23 and adopted the Financial Report 2022 at their 49th meeting held in Sarajevo today. The Annual Report 2022/23 is expected to be endorsed at the RCC Annual Meeting and adopted at the SEECP Ministerial Meeting to take place on 4 and 5 June 2023, respectively, ...
28 March 2023 | News
Bregu: Digitalisation momentum in Western Balkans calls for improvement e-service accessibility improvement and reduction of digital divide
Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Investment Bank (EIB) gathered region’s ministers and other high ranking government officials, local and international experts in digital projects, key donors and financial institutions, as well as business representatives from the Western Balkans at the “Financing Digitalisation ...
15 March 2023 | News
Bregu: Continued all-inclusive regional cooperation remains key in strengthening economic resilience of Western Balkans
Sarajevo – “External risks arising from the current geopolitical crisis and the rise in commodity prices reinforce the purpose of the Common Regional Market agenda. Continued all-inclusive regional cooperation remains the key towards strengthening economic resilience of the Western Balkans,” said Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, ...
07 February 2023 | News
United Group Joins the EU-WB Roaming Declaration
Brussels/Sarajevo - United Group, one of the largest telecommunications and media operators in the South East Europe including Nova, Total TV, Telemach, SBB and more regional telecommunication platforms, signed the European Union (EU)-Western Balkans (WB) Roaming Declaration at a meeting of telecommunications operators from EU and WB in Brussels today organised by the European Commission ...
06 December 2022 | News
Reduction of data roaming prices between WB and EU to start as of 1 October 2023
At the EU-Western Balkans Summit held in Tirana today, the telecommunications operators from the European Union (EU) and the Western Balkans signed a Roaming Declaration enabling the reduction of the roaming charges between the EU and the Western Balkans as of 1 October 2023.
19 October 2022 | News
European Union and Western Balkans mobile operators to work together on steps, ought to start EU-WB roaming charges reduction soon
Sarajevo/Brussels – The European Union (EU) and the Western Balkans (WB) mobile operators met today to discuss the Roadmap on lowering the roaming charges between the EU and our region, at the meeting organised by the European Commission. Olivér Várhelyi, EU Neighborhood and Enlargement Commissioner, Thierry Breton, EU Internal Market Commissioner, and Majlinda Bregu, ...
21 September 2022 | News
Bregu: Digitalisation necessitates an intergenerational approach
Pristina – “Today is a great day for Pristina. It is the centre of gravity of one of the greatest Berlin Process initiatives – the Western Balkans Digital Summit. Pristina today bursts and radiates with the dynamism of so many start-ups, companies, experts and policy makers – all united in their drive to harness the potentials of digitisation for our region’s ...
24 June 2022 | News
Bregu: Support of Western Balkan citizens to regional cooperation remains stable at 76%
Brussels – “While many things change, our public and business perceptions surveys remain a truthful source of sentiments across the region. At times, the results surprise us, sometimes they serve as a wake-up call, while on other occasions they confirm that our efforts are not in vain as citizens and businesses feel the benefits of our work. 76% of Western Balkan citizens find ...
15 October 2021 | News
Bregu: European perspective of Western Balkans is the drive that makes the process of cooperation beneficial
Sarajevo – “European perspective of Western Balkans is the drive that makes the process of cooperation beneficial to all in long-term. It is of highest importance that both the region and the EU deliver on the respective commitments – particularly when we take into account that optimism regarding the time of accession has been declining. More ambitious actions for ...
13 October 2021 | News
Bregu proposes creation of ‘Digital Identity’ system for Western Balkan citizens, modelled on the EU one
Podgorica – “We are racing to reach high standards of EU MS. Despite trying to run with the same speed as EU MS, we started our race later and hence we can never reach EU unless “phasing in” in EU policies is duly implemented,” said Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) at the closing of the 4th Digital Summit of the Western ...
12 October 2021 | News
Digital Solutions: Six new ‘made in Western Balkans’ products presented at the 4th Digital Summit
Sarajevo/Podgorica – Six new ‘made in Western Balkans’ digital products have been presented at the 4th WB Digital Summit in Podgorica today. Authors of the products connecting digital with organic food, agriculture, sales, health, transportation services, small businesses, and environment-friendly plastic are all the winners of the second Balkathon, regional annual competition ...
10 October 2021 | News
Western Balkans Digital Summit opens in Podgorica tomorrow
Sarajevo/Podgorica - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is once again supporting the biggest digital event in the region - the Western Balkans Digital Summit (WBDS) - the forth in a row annual event on digital cooperation in the region. This year, WBDS will be hosted by the Montenegrin Government and will be held in hybrid mode, from 11 to 13 October 2021, closing with the Ministerial ...
06 October 2021 | News
Bregu: It is crunch time to deliver on reducing roaming costs between the EU and Western Balkans
Brdo pri Kranju/Sarajevo – “As the agendas of regional cooperation build in intensity and challenges get bigger, we witness daily that the process of cooperation among Western Balkan Six cannot afford a stalemate,” said Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretary General, Majlinda Bregu, at the EU-Western Balkans Summit that gathered EU and WB leaders at Brdo pri Kranju ...
02 July 2021 | News
Regional Roaming Agreement is clear: Roaming charges in the Western Balkans are now ZERO
The Regional Cooperation Council is pleased and happy that the roam like at home has entered into force in the Western Balkans as of 1 July. We take pride and are happy that this successful process we facilitated in eliminating barriers, borders, and tariff related to mobile traffic in the region has finally happened. It is result of the hard work between the region’s governments, regulatory ...
27 June 2021 | News
As of 1 July roaming in the Western Balkans will be 0 - Stay Charged, Roam Free
Sarajevo – As of 1 July 2021 the entire Western Balkans will be a roaming free zone. Roaming costs between Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia will be zero.
25 June 2021 | News
Bregu: People want and need to be connected in many ways and Roaming Free region is one of the ways enabling it
Podgorica – “People want and need to be connected in many ways and Roaming Free region is one of the ways enabling it. Looking back three years ago, when the Western Balkan Leaders decided to lower the roaming prices within the region, no one had thought that we would have region with 0 roaming charges that soon. And here we are, counting days before Roaming Free Western Balkans,” ...
24 June 2021 | News
Bregu: Balkan Barometer reveals human uncertainty and vulnerability are main concerns followed by some goodish news on benefits of regional cooperation
Tirana – “This, seventh in a row, Balkan Barometer shows human uncertainty and vulnerability are the main concerns followed by some goodish news which is the consciousness about the benefits of regional cooperation. For 49% of Western Balkan citizens, unemployment is the biggest problem, as it is for young people as well, while 46% are most worried about the economic situation. ...
22 June 2021 | News
RCC to Present Balkan Barometer 2021 - Public and Business Viewpoints on Situation in our Region
Tirana – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to present the 2021 edition of Balkan Barometer on Thursday, 24 June 2021, starting at 10:00, in Tirana. This is the 7th edition of annual public and business opinion survey commissioned by the RCC which examines Western Balkan citizens and businesses perceptions and expectations towards a variety of thematic areas, such as the EU integration ...
08 June 2021 | News
Bregu: Common Regional Market is a rule of thumb, not a law of nature
Sarajevo/Tirana – “Common Regional Market (CRM) is a rule of thumb, not a law of nature. It doesn’t apply to every single national vision a government or economy in the region has, nor to every kind of good or bad bilateral relations. It is a broaden-and-build plan, endorsed by the Leaders of this region to enable a better region. The RCC is only trying to steer an intense ...
19 May 2021 | News
Bregu: Regional cooperation with clear, targeted goals and meeting deliverables is more urgent than ever
Sarajevo/Tirana–“Regional cooperation with clear, targeted goals and meeting deliverables is more urgent than ever. Establishing a Common Regional Market which will attract investors, support real added value of industries, promote innovation, ensure digitalization and bring the Western Balkans closer to the EU standards, will smoothen recovery and enhance resilience to future ...
04 May 2021 | News
Bregu: Cooperative policies won’t happen unless they have domestic support at home and we commit ourselves to meeting what was promised
Roaming free Western Balkans Six as of 1 July: Stay Charged, Roam Free! “1.4 million people in the Western Balkans are registered as unemployed. Out of that number, 760,000 are women, while 173,000 are young people. There are 1 million more men working in the Western Balkans than women. Are you still wondering why we need the Common Regional Market?
02 November 2020 | News
While EU and the world are advancing to fit to the Digital Age, we need to run twice as fast to close the discrepancies
Tirana/Sarajevo – “At the last years' Digital Summit in Belgrade we witnessed a success story when the ministers of the Western Balkans (WB) six in charge of information and communication technologies signed the new Regional Roaming Agreement, paving a way for roaming free WB in 2021. I’m confident the region will deliver again having full support from European Commission ...
25 June 2020 | News
Bregu: It is up to the region to retain commitment to cooperation and bring forth tangible progress to citizens
Tirana/Sarajevo/Prishtina – The two meetings have been held today within the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) - the meeting of the SEECP Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the RCC Annual Meeting, which RCC co-organised with the outgoing Kosovo SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office (CiO).
13 May 2019 | News
Region works to implement “Speak more, pay less” principle the Western Balkans committed to
Brussels – “One month after the signing of the new Regional Roaming Agreement (RRA2) for the Western Balkans (WB) at the Digital Summit on 4 April 2019 in Belgrade, the focus is on steps needed to ensure its smooth, uniform and efficient implementation. WB citizens and all our partners are very keen to see positive results and we should make best efforts to succeed,” said Gazmend Turdiu, ...
04 April 2019 | News
Region seals the deal – 2021 roaming free Western Balkans
Belgrade – “A deal is a destination! Today’s signature of the Roaming Free Agreement is a step that makes a difference in the region. Amid all scepticism let us say loudly: Europe delivers”, said Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) upon signing of the new Regional Roaming Agreement (RRA) at the second WB Digital Summit in Belgrade ...
24 January 2019 | News
RCC: ‘Roam Like at Home’ speak more, pay less
Brussels – The second round of negotiations on the new Regional Roaming Agreement (RRA2) for the Western Balkans (WB), organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), is being held in Brussels today.
13 December 2018 | News
Western Balkans moving towards a roaming free region
Brussels – Representatives of the economies from the Western Balkans (WB) gathered in Brussels today to discuss on the new Regional Roaming Agreement (RRA), at the meeting of the Western Balkans Roaming Policy organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).
06 November 2018 | News
Western Balkans continues regional discussions to decrease roaming prices
Brussels – Representatives of the Western Balkans (WB) economies started the discussions for the adoption of the new Regional Roaming Agreement aimed at reducing the roaming prices for the benefits of all Western Balkan consumers, covering calls, SMS and data traffic for the entire region.
04 July 2018 | News
Svilanovic: Notable progress achieved in the implementation of Multi-Annual Action Plan on Regional Economic Area in the Western Balkans
Vienna – Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Goran Svilanovic presented key results of the implementation of Multi-Annual Action Plan on Regional Economic Area (MAP REA) at the ministerial panel dedicated to this topic of the Economy Ministers’ Meeting of the London Western Balkans Summit held in Vienna today.
03 July 2018 | News
RCC to present SEE2020 strategy implementation results and its Balkan Barometer 2018 this week in Brussels
Brussels – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to present the implementation results of the region’s growth strategy, South East Europe 2020 (SEE2020) on 5 July 2018 in Brussels, and day after, on 6 July also in Brussels, the RCC will reveal the results of its 4th edition of the public and business opinion survey – Balkan Barometer 2018. Both are an integral part of the RCC’s ...
17 May 2018 | News
RCC at the Sofia Western Balkans Summit: Regional Cooperation Council proliferated regional cooperation across all sectors
Sofia – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Goran Svilanovic, took part at the EU-Western Balkans Summit hosted by the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, in Sofia today. The Summit is dedicated to strengthen links between the EU and the Western Balkans in infrastructure, digital and human connectivity. It brought together EU and WB leaders, as well as ...
05 April 2018 | News
Western Balkans Roaming Policy Actions Discussed at the Meeting in Brussels
Brussels - Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) together with the European Commission (EC) brought together the representatives from the Western Balkans economies’ line ministries and regulatory authorities, relevant experts from EC’s Directorate‑General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) and DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR) as ...
26 April 2017 | News
RCC: Western Balkans is not to be left out from the Pan-European digital infrastructure map
Vilnius – “Western Balkans is not to be left out from the Pan-European digital infrastructure map. However, it must develop future-proof broadband policies and targets and accelerate high-speed broadband roll-out”, said Gazmend Turdiu, Deputy Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regional Development Forum ...
18 October 2016 | News
RCC: Initial insights of draft Regional Roaming Study presented to Western Balkans governments and regulatory agencies’
Sarajevo/Brussels – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat presented the initial insights of the draft Regional Roaming Study to the governments’ and communication regulatory agencies’ representatives from the Western Balkans, in Brussels today.
27 September 2016 | News
Roaming in the region could be harmonised with the EU even before accession, RCC to provide support in this
“Further to our long-standing support for regional cooperation in the ICT sphere as part of the South East Europe (SEE) 2020 Strategy, our efforts focus on delivering concrete contributions on two regional initiatives: on roaming and broadband. Roaming is the area where our economies could be harmonised with the EU even before accession, and RCC will support them in this,” said the ...
19 February 2016 | News
RCC to actively participate in future roaming policy in Western Balkans
The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will help agree on future roaming policy among the telecommunications regulators in Western Balkans. This was concluded in Skopje today at the first meeting of Open Communications Platform at the level of line ministries and regulatory bodies for electronic communications with the overall aim of further linking the economies, reducing costs and providing ...