One more step for Ukraine’s EU accession to its roaming area

by Théophane Hartmann

The 27 EU Foreign Affairs Ministers discussed Ukrainian accession to the EU’s roaming zone, clearing the way for a formal vote later this year.

The discussion coincided with a broader show of support by the EU to Ukraine, which today marked three years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The EU remains firmly behind Ukraine, the Commission’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, stated during a press conference, despite the US appearing to lean more toward the interests of the aggressor than the victim.

Moreover, the EU adopted its sixteenth package of sanctions and military aid for Ukraine on the same day.

The EU’s roaming policy is a landmark policy achievement which has allowed any EU citizen, since June 2017, to travel across the EU without incurring additional charges for SMS, MMS, calls, or internet access.

Ukraine’s accession to the roaming area is expected to be formally validated in early July by a Council decision approved during an EU Council of ministers in its Trade configuration.

De facto however, Ukraine has been permitted access to the EU’s roaming area since the start of Russia’s attack on the whole of the country.

At the time, European and Ukrainian operators voluntarily agreed to negotiate agreements, enabling millions of Ukrainian refugees to stay in touch with their families who remained in the war-torn country. The voluntary agreement has since been extended five times and is currently set to expire on 9 July 2025.

Since then the Ukraine-EU association agreement was modified in April 2023 to require Ukraine to incorporate EU telecommunications law into national law. This included the EU roaming regulation, but also the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), which sets out competition rules on operators.

Ukraine then notified the Commission in November 2024 that it successfully transposed the different EU laws in national laws. The Commission then green-lighted the Ukraine’s accession to the EU roaming area.

The Council vote in early July would mean Ukrainians will be part of a common European roaming area on a permanent basis, itself a small step on the road to Ukraine’s EU accession.

*first published in euractiv.com