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The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) supported the operators in defining a glidepath for lower retail prices as part of the commitments in a Joint Declaration signed in May.
The Declaration, which is based on a voluntary agreement, was negotiated between telecoms operators from the EU and the Republic of Moldova with the support of BEREC, the European Commission and the Moldovan authorities. Following the signature of the Joint Declaration and the agreed glide path with retail price caps, roaming services will be progressively less costly for citizens travelling between the EU and Moldova. Citizens will benefit from lower mobile service rates from 1 January 2024. The Declaration will apply until 31 December 2025, after which it can be renewed.
Lower international termination rates – lower roaming charges for consumers
The Declaration complements Moldova's decision to align with the EU single termination rates, as of 1 January 2024, in case of all calls originated from EU numbers to Moldovan numbers. Termination rates are the rates operators charge each other for terminating voice calls on their networks and serve as an input cost considered by operators in setting their retail prices for voice calls. The decision from Moldovan authorities will lower the cost base of EU operators, increasing their economic space for more affordable international calls to Moldova. In turn, the European operators shall reciprocate the EU single termination rates to Moldovan operators. The alignment between Moldova and the EU of its mutual applicable termination rates will also diminish the cost pressure on the roaming calls between parties, which may lead to price reductions at the retail level. The Moldovan authorities published further information on mobile termination rates and fixed termination rates. It reflects the shared goal of EU and Moldovan authorities to ensure a long-term roaming arrangement and bring the Republic of Moldova into the EU roaming area, where there will be no extra surcharges on roaming calls between the two.
To this aim, a proposal was recently adopted to incorporate roaming into the EU-Moldova Association Agreement. Once Moldova has fully aligned its national legislation to the Union relevant acts for roaming and the necessary steps have been completed, Moldovan visitors to the EU will be able to use their mobile phones under the same price conditions as if they were in Moldova, while travellers from the EU will benefit from the same rights when visiting Moldova.
More information on the retail price caps and the glide path can be found in the Annex of the Joint declaration.