Moldovan citizens traveling to European Union member states will pay lower roaming tariffs, and in five years, the authorities plan to eliminate these charges entirely. The draft law on regulating roaming tariffs with EU countries was passed in the second reading by 75 members of Parliament.

The document was developed by the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization and aims to harmonize international mobile communication costs between the Republic of Moldova and EU countries, thereby ensuring a substantial reduction in these charges. This creates the foundation for including Moldova in the EU's “roam like at home” zone.

The authors proposed introducing a cap on tariffs for calls, SMS, and mobile data in roaming mode for Moldovan users traveling to EU member states. Specifically, the tariffs would be equal to national ones. As a result, consumers are expected to save between 30% and 70% of current roaming costs, depending on the type of services used. According to the document, this cap will be implemented gradually, aiming to reach a level comparable to that within the EU, in line with European roaming legislation. In the long term, roaming charges will be eliminated altogether.

At the same time, the authors emphasize transparency and consumer awareness. Providers are required to send users automatic notifications when they enter a roaming zone, as well as to clearly and thoroughly inform them about the cost of each service and applicable usage limits. In this context, some provisions of the draft refer to the creation of a mechanism to monitor roaming tariffs, and providers who violate the law will be subject to administrative penalties.

The legislative initiative also includes measures to stimulate investment in electronic communications infrastructure, including 4G and 5G networks.

As of January 1, 2024, roaming tariffs between the Republic of Moldova and EU member states were reduced following the ratification of an agreement signed between our country and the EU. As a result, there has been a significant increase in the use of roaming services provided by electronic communication providers both in Moldova and in EU countries. For example, last year, the volume of call traffic made by users located in European countries to users in Moldova exceeded 10.8 million minutes. Likewise, throughout 2024, Moldovans traveling abroad used over one billion GB of data — three times more than in 2023.