Ukraine completes final procedures to enter EU roaming zone - Here's what changes
Ukraine has completed procedures to join the EU roaming zone (Photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine has submitted its final official notification to the European Commission confirming the completion of all necessary legislative procedures to join the EU roaming zone, announced Rikard Jozwiak, Europe Editor for RFE/RL, on X.
"The EU commission today received the final notification from Ukraine on all laws passed to be part of the EU's "roam like home" area for mobile phone users," the journalist stated.
It is expected that Moldova will send a similar notification soon.
According to Jozwiak, Ukraine and Moldova will join the EU roaming zone on January 1, 2026.
"I know that the word 'historic' is overused these days but this is exactly that," noted the Europe Editor for RFE/RL.
The roaming zone includes all 27 EU countries, including Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. It will be expanded to include candidate countries for EU membership for the first time in history.
Roaming for Ukrainians in EU
In February 2023, the European Commission incorporated roaming into the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.
In April of the same year, the European Council supported Ukraine's accession to the EU free roaming zone.
Additionally, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers created the conditions for the country to adopt the EU internal market regime regarding roaming.
Earlier, we reported that EU member states could grant Ukraine access to their roaming zone even before the end of this spring. However, this first required a positive assessment from the European Commission.
Just recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law implementing EU legislative norms on electronic communications. This is another step toward joining the EU roaming zone.
