EU Roaming for Serbia: Brussels Opens Negotiations

The European Commission announced late last week that it has opened roaming negotiations between Serbia and the European Union, held separately with each Western Balkans partner. The aim is to bring the region into the Roam Like at Home scheme, under which calls, messages and mobile data abroad are charged at domestic prices, with no roaming surcharge.

The announcement was published by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood. The talks follow a plan that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced during a visit to the Western Balkans in October 2026. The Commission’s statement says: “Bilateral negotiations have now begun with the partners.”

Which countries do the negotiations cover?

The sources disagree on this point. The Mondo portal lists five countries: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania. The Commission’s statement, as reported by RTV Novi Pazar, lists six, because it includes Kosovo. The Commission’s earlier proposal of February 25, 2026 also named six partners, and that is the number the Commission itself gives on its page about the proposal: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

What has to happen before domestic-rate roaming?

The Commission has set two conditions. First, agreements must be concluded with each partner. Second, the partners must fully align their roaming rules with EU rules. Only then will the Commission ask the Council of the EU to decide on extending the zone to the region.

The steps so far look like this:

• February 25, 2026: the Commission proposes opening negotiations
• June 2026: the Council of the EU approves opening negotiations
• October 2026: von der Leyen announces the plan in the region
• November 2026: bilateral negotiations begin

The Commission also stated the legal basis: “These agreements will be based on the existing Stabilisation and Association Agreements.” These are the same treaties that already govern the EU’s relations with each of these countries.

When could people in Serbia feel the change?

The Commission has not given a date from which domestic-rate roaming would apply to people in Serbia. The closest precedent is the extension of the scheme to Ukraine and Moldova: the Council of the EU took its decisions in July 2025, but the benefits for users apply only from January 1, 2026. The scheme has been in force for EU member states since June 2017.

The B92 portal reports that the agreement should also guarantee the same quality and speed of mobile network as at home, along with free calls to emergency services. The Commission’s statements say nothing about this, so it should be read as B92’s claim, not as confirmed content of the future agreements.

Roaming within the Western Balkans itself was abolished back in 2021. What is being negotiated now concerns travel between the region and EU member states, and the outcome depends on how quickly Serbia aligns its regulations with Union rules.