Roaming is a wireless telecommunication term typically used with mobile devices, such as mobile phones. It refers to a mobile phone being used outside the range of its native network and connecting to another available cell network.
The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is an international trade agreement between countries mostly located in Southeastern Europe. Founded by representatives of Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, CEFTA in 2006 expanded to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and the UNMIK.
The Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe was an institution aimed at strengthening peace, democracy, human rights and economy in the countries of South Eastern Europe from 1999 to 2008. It was replaced by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in February 2008. The RCC replaced it because it is more "regionally owned" than the Stability Pact, which was driven more by outside partners such as the EU.
The Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) is a multilateral regional initiative that has been initiated by the European Union, the United States of America and the countries of Southeast Europe within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as a support to the implementation of the Dayton Accords in December 1996 at the inaugural session at Geneva on the basis of Final Points of Common EU-USA Understanding.
In talks with countries that have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country. In exchange, the country may be offered tariff-free access to some or all EU markets, and financial or technical assistance.
The South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) was launched on Bulgaria's initiative in 1996. At the Bulgaria-chaired meeting in Sofia, the Southeast Europe (SEE) countries laid the foundations for regional co-operation for the purposes of creating an atmosphere of trust, good neighbourly relations and stability.
The Roaming Regulation 2022 bans roaming charges (Eurotariff) within the European Economic Area (EEA), which consists of the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. This regulates both the charges mobile network operator can impose on its subscribers for using telephone and data services outside of the network's member state, and the wholesale rates networks can charge each other to allow their subscribers access to each other's networks. The 2012 Regulation was recast in 2022.
Tonino Picula is a Croatian politician currently serving his third term as a Member of the European Parliament for Croatia, having successfully run in 2013, 2014, and 2019 European elections. He got involved in politics in the early 1990s and had served four consecutive terms as a member of the Croatian Parliament, having been elected in 2000, 2003, 2007, and 2011 parliamentary elections as a member of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2000 to 2003 under prime minister Ivica Račan, and as mayor of Velika Gorica from 2005 to 2009.
The accession of Kosovo to the European Union (EU) is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU. Kosovo is currently recognized by the EU as a potential candidate for accession.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move which Serbia rejects. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state and continues to claim it as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. Initially there were no relations between the two; however, in the following years there has been increased dialogue and cooperation between the two sides.
Tanja Fajon is a Slovenian politician, leader of Social Democrats, part of the Party of European Socialists and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Slovenia. She has served as the minister of foreign and european affairs in the government of Prime Minister Robert Golob since 1 June 2022.
The Belgrade–Pristina dialogue is a series of EU-facilitated talks between the governments of Serbia and Kosovo. Serbia claims Kosovo as its southern province under United Nations administration, and rejects its independence. Kosovo considers Serbia as a neighboring state. The negotiations began in March 2011, three years after Kosovo declared independence. They are the first negotiations between the two entities since Kosovo declared independence in February 2008.
The electricity sector of Kosovo relies on coal-fired power plants and is considered one of the sectors with the greatest potential of development. The inherited issues after the war in Kosovo and the transition period have had an immense effect on the progress of this sector.
Nikola Dimitrov is a Macedonian politician and diplomat, who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for North Macedonia from 31 May 2017 to 30 August 2020. He also served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2000 and Macedonian ambassador to the United States and then the Netherlands. In 2014, he turned down an appointment as Macedonia's new ambassador to Russia.
European Western Balkans is a web portal that focuses on the Western Balkans countries and reports on development of the European Union's enlargement policy towards the states of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.
The Centre for Contemporary Politics is an independent, non-governmental and non-profit organization founded in Belgrade in May 2012. The centre is a think tank focused on a range of fields, including reforms of the political system, foreign affairs and security, as well as protection of human and minority rights. The Centre’s primary mission is to enact reforms to the political system that protect human and minority rights, as well as ensure a safe and fair integration of Serbia into greater Europe. Operating as a think-tank, the Centre for Contemporary Politics conducts assessments and analyses on the various political issues facing the region, including political integrity, national security, and human rights. It develops and proposes objective strategies to deal with threats to the region’s political and social fabric, regional stability and cooperation and protection through PR and public awareness campaigns, community forums and youth leadership training.
The 2017 Western Balkans Summit in Trieste, Italy was the fourth annual summit within the Berlin Process initiative for European integration of Western Balkans states. Previous summits took place in Berlin in 2014, Vienna in 2015 and in Paris in 2016. Heads of government, foreign ministers and the ministers of economy of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as EU member states from the region Croatia, Slovenia and EU member states Austria, France, Germany, Italy as well as representatives of the European Union and the International Financial Institutions attended. Participants once again committed the Western Balkan's eventual path into the EU and agreed the next Berlin Process Summit would take place in London.
The 2018 Western Balkans Summit in London, United Kingdom, was the fifth annual summit within the Berlin Process initiative for European integration of Western Balkans states. The summit took place on July 9-10. Previous summits took place in Berlin in 2014, Vienna in 2015, Paris in 2016 and Trieste in 2017. Heads of government, foreign ministers and the ministers of economy of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as EU member states from the region Croatia, Slovenia and EU member states such as the United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, Italy as well as representatives of the European Union and the International Financial Institutions attended the summit.
The 2019 Western Balkans Summit in Poznań, Poland, was the sixth annual summit within the Berlin Process initiative for European integration of Western Balkans states. Heads of government, foreign ministers, and the ministers of economy from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia attended, as well as two existing EU member states from the region - Croatia and Slovenia. In addition, other EU member states including Austria, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as representatives of the European Union and the International Financial Institutions, attended to the summit.
The Open Balkan is an economic and political zone of three member states in the Balkans, those being Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. The zone has a total area of 131,935 km2 (50,940 sq mi) and an estimated total population of almost 12 million located in Central and Southern Europe. The official languages are Albanian, Macedonian and Serbian. Its administrative centres are the cities of Belgrade, Skopje and Tirana. With the establishment of the zone, all three member states aim to increase trade and cooperation as well as improve bilateral relations.
