European Commission Disclosed When Ukraine Joins EU Free-Roaming Zone

The final decision on Ukraine's accession to the free-roaming zone of the European Union may be made this year.

European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, said this on Wednesday following the meeting with the Cabinet of Ministers, the correspondent of "European Pravda" reports.

This is the first visit of the European Commissioner to Ukraine after full-scale Russia's invasion and granting Kyiv EU candidate status.

"I am here for the first time not as a commissioner for neighborhood issues but primarily as a commissioner for enlargement," Várhelyi quips.

According to him, candidate status will only increase the amount of work Ukraine needs to accomplish: "Your work is only increasing. We discussed that now we expect Ukraine not only to pass the necessary bills but also to launch them, to ensure the laws will function."

The European Commissioner noted that the European Commission offers Kyiv to speed up the integration in areas where success can be achieved quickly, and Ukraine can quickly obtain positive results.

"We are looking at the lowest-hanging fruit. Definitely, it will be roaming and industrial visa-free, but there may be other spheres as well," Várhelyi added.

The European Commissioner assumes the decision regarding Ukraine's accession to the EU free-roaming zone will be made this year.

"All the necessary consultations are now underway. First, the European operators should agree on this issue among themselves, then with the Ukrainian operators. I believe before our next meeting in Brussels (the Ukraine-EU summit, which should take place in 2022), we can put a solution on the table," he clarified.

During her address to the European Parliament, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that Ukraine would join the EU free-roaming zone.

Back in April, EU and Ukraine operators signed a joint statement to ensure affordable or even free roaming between the European Union and Ukraine. EC representative Katarína Mathernová noted that this could be one of the first foundations for the future agreement on roaming between Ukraine and the EU.