Bregu has been the acting secretary given that over the last three years the 13 member states have not reached a compromise for this post. On Wednesday, in Skopje, before the summit of heads of state and government, there was reached an agreement so that the new general secretary will be Amer Kapetanovic.

Radio Free Europe spoke with Bregu about her previous work at the head of the Council, the projects carried out, the common and similar problems of the countries of the region.

Bregu appreciated as a great achievement of the Council the reduction of the price of roaming or telephone conversations with European countries, while she expressed the belief that by 2027 there will be zero roaming with the EU. /p.s./

After almost a year of intense joint work by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the European Commission, as well as with the political support of the EU and the Western Balkan, the telecommunications operators of the Western Balkans and the European Union have not only met the requirements of the declaration, but in many cases have exceeded expectations.

Starting from this October, the price limit for 1 GB of data roaming within special offers and packages, in accordance with the Roaming Declaration, should not exceed 18 Euros, thus making travel and communication between the EU- and the Western Balkan significantly more economical.

“I promised in my speeches last year that roaming prices between the EU and the Western Balkans would fall from 30% – 99% reduction by autumn. They will have up to 95% discount in Albania and up to 99% in Kosovo.

The success of the EU-Western Balkans Roaming Declaration is proof of the power of regional cooperation, to transform it, to make communication between countries easier and better, facing many complex challenges.

This historic moment comes amid political tensions, economic struggles and the growing spectrum of climate change in the region, facts that reinforce even more the importance of regional and Euro-Atlantic cooperation”, said the General Secretary of the RCC Majlinda Bregu./p.s./

In an interview for the “Voice” of Kosovo, Bregu provided details of one of the concrete achievements for the citizens of the Western Balkans.

“As Schuman, one of the fathers of the EU, said: “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”

In the same way, this is only the beginning and how it will continue until we arrive at the rates “like home” between the Balkans and Europe”, said Bregu.

Bregu said that, “We expect the citizens of the Western Balkans and the European Union (EU), which includes millions of citizens of the Diaspora, to benefit from the reduction of roaming charges between the EU and the Western Balkans (BP)”.

According to her, this has been a complicated negotiation process, which is still ongoing.

“There are 38 telecommunication operators part of this initiative and as we have emphasized at the beginning, other operators are also welcome to become part of it at any time. 38 operators have agreed to have a unified maximum price limit of 18 Euros per GB. And I say with full pleasure that this is a great achievement”, said Bregu.

“But, what is important for us today is the fact that with the maximum limit that the operators have agreed, the citizens of the Western Balkans will pay on average a third less than the price they pay today, through different packages, add-ons ) etc., while they will use mobile internet when they are roaming in EU countries”, said Bregu.

“It is a process that is not over yet”, concluded Bregu./p.s./

Vasic described the move as a step forward to the digital development between the countries of the Western Balkan, to have a digital single market in the EU.

At the press conference, Vasic said that, “I would consider this moment a great event. Today 10 operators from the region and the EU signed the agreement on digital connectivity and pledged to reduce roaming charges in the future”.

“The concrete figures will be published in May. There will be lower roaming prices on consumers and customer both in the region and the EU, to this end we are grateful to the Western Balkans for supporting us in this new journey”, he said.

Vasic praised the commitment of the WB countries to implement reforms and policies that push for greater investment by communication operators.

“We want to harmonize the regulatory framework for new cross-border projects for further infrastructure improvement”, he added. //a.i/

“The declaration signed by a series of telecom operators from the European Union and the Western Balkans to deliver on the roadmap towards removing the roaming charges between the EU and the Western Balkan countries represents one of the most important achievements in the last few years,” Balluku said in a press conference.

According to her, the agreement will have a concrete and real impact on the lives of the citizens across the region. Balluku noted that the accord will also speed up the EU integration process.

“Cutting the roaming charges to zero between the EU and the Western Balkans will first reduce the current digital fracture between the Europeans on both sides of the Adriatic and, on the other hand, also completes most key aspects of social and human interconnection and an alignment not simply of policies and norms, but definitely of social, economic and human exchanges,” Balluku added.

Deputy Prime Minister Balluku pointed out that today’s agreement better integrates the region into the system of fundamental European rights, namely the free movement of persons, goods, ideas and economic interactions.

Balluku said that implementation of the agreement is set to begin on October 2023.

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“Elimination of any difference or tariff barrier among the mobile phone users in the 6 countries of the Western Balkan, through the implementation by all regional operators of unified Roaming services is a fundamental achievement in the field of connectivity,” EPCA head said.

“From today, July 1, 2021, thanks to the joint work of 6 governments, the Regional Cooperation Council, regulators and thanks to the maximum and valuable commitment of operators, every user of roaming services in the economic space of the Western Balkans will be able to feel a citizen of an optimally interconnected region, and no longer a subscriber with differential treatment. Roaming will now be as simple and cheap as the daily use of the home phone,” Frashëri said.

According to Frashëri, this is a great achievement in the global framework of harmonized integrations and in the more specific framework of interconnection through electronic communications and digitalization, thus giving the Europeans of the Western Balkans equal opportunities and more and more quality service. //a.i/