“We must complete our domestic obligations and we will complete them by February. The rest will be lobbying and an agreement at the level of Macedonia-EU and Western Balkans-EU,” stated Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski in tonight’s interview for the programme“360 Degrees” on MRT 1.
When asked whether it is realistic decisions for Macedonia to be made in March, and eventually by September to begin implementing “roaming like home”, the minister replied:
“As for our homework – it is entirely realistic, because we will fulfil the obligations, I can say, first in the region, which was the first target. I hope there will be awareness within EU that opening this issue will be of immense importance for all citizens.”
Minister Andonovski clarified that the homework, among other things, includes transposing of four regulations into the Law on Electronic Communications through one amendment, as well as adopting of one to two additional by-laws.
However, from 1 January this year, "roaming as home" came into effect for the citizens of Ukraine and Moldova, and why this did not happen in Macedonia, Andonovski stated that at no point was Macedonia placed in the group of Ukraine and Moldova, emphasizing the importance of this issue for the citizens:
"This issue is one of the most important that affects us and I think, at least in my opinion, it is at the level of visa liberalization, because the benefit of being part of the wider European space and within the telecommunications world is truly felt. It was a top priority for us, but at no point were we placed in the group of Ukraine and Moldova, who were the first to start the process that was initiated by the war in Ukraine and the influx of refugees from Ukraine to Poland and other countries of the European Union," emphasized Andonovski.
Subsequently, Minister Andonovski also reflected on the initiatives and steps taken in the recent period:
“A major step has been taken with the adoption of the Law on Electronic Communications, because for the first time the European Union was called upon to provide equal roaming conditions for Macedonia and the region at the beginning of the Berlin Process, when this was made possible for the Western Balkan countries. This means that my predecessors and previous governments tried to discuss it in some way, but I will come to the point that, unfortunately, the homework was not completed. The second aspect, the political one, I believe originated from Ukraine due to the crisis and was embedded in the agreements with Ukraine and Moldova at the time they were signed. In our country, as well as in Montenegro and Albania, no such agreement has been signed, which means we will need to negotiate bilaterally. Our Stabilization and Association Agreements do not include the issues of roaming as a possibility for liberation. Regarding the homework – we should have adjusted the European communication code as early as 2018. It is a major European Union code, in our Law on Electronic Communications, and four other regulations – two from 2016, one from 2018–2019 and one from 2022. Unfortunately, none of these regulations have been transposed into Macedonian legislation. We took a significant step by adopting the Law on Electronic Communications during 2025, and at the end of 2025, we further aligned it,” concluded Minister Andonovski.
