ROAMING PAYMENT IN EUROPE MAY BE CANCELLED FOR MOLDOVA, GEORGIA, UKRAINE

In the run-up to the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels the European Parliament proposed to cancel the payment for roaming in mobile connection between the EU and Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia.

According to the Radio Liberty, the European Parliament statement, European institutes are proposed to introduce unilateral tariff preferences or create broadband high-capacity channels for these Eastern neighbors within the Eastern Partnership program.

Such a “plus” model may also be proposed to three other EaP participants – Armenia, Belarus and Azerbaijan, when they will be ready for such extended opportunities.

The project that should be considered at the sitting of the European Parliament’s Committee for Foreign Affairs on Thursday, September 14, proposes that the European Commission together with the European Investment Bank to elaborate a plan for creating a new European investment plan for Ukraine and other EaP member countries, which achieved the biggest progress in reforms.

The document also implies the providing of support to rehabilitating Ukraine’s complete sovereignty in Crimea, Georgia – in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and of Moldova – in Transnistria.

Besides, the project proposes to clearly support European aspirations of partner countries, reminding about the EU provision that any European country may address with a request on getting membership in the EU if it meets the Copenhagen criteria and democratic principles and adheres to the main human and minority freedoms and rights, as well as the supremacy of law.

Before the bill consideration by the European Parliament full staff in November, it still may be changed.

According to the radio station, EU countries are working on declaration of the upcoming Eastern Partnership countries’ summit, appointed for November. Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia stand for recognition of their European aspirations just as at the previous summit in Riga in 2015. However, Germany and Holland are standing against this.