Government urges EU to hide name of UNMIK from CEFTA

After ten years of Kosovo's membership in the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), the Government of Kosovo will ask from the European Union office, which in this mechanism is not represented through the name of the UN administration UNMIK but as an independent state.

Haki Shatri, Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj's economic adviser, says that Kosovo's representation by the name of UNMIK, represents non-equal treatment with other CEFTA member states.

“We think it's time for the end to show that Kosovo is an independent state. This issue is being discussed, but it has not yet been crystallised with concrete” actions, Shatri told Radio Free Europe.

Otherwise, Kosovo in 2007 has officially become a member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement, known as CEFTA.

At the time, because Kosovo had not yet been elected status, the agreement was signed by then chief of state UNPC, Joachim Ryker.

CEFTA was intended to deepen the economic integration of countries in the region with European Union countries.

Even former Trade and Industry Minister, at the time of Kosovo's membership in CEFTA, Bujar Dugolli, for Radio Free Europe, says that after Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008, political circumstances have changed, so that in international mechanisms, Kosovo should be recognised as a state without preambras. U n NMIC.

For that, however, he feels that there should be sweeping will on the part of the European Union.

As for CEFTA, Dugolli says Serbia's state could present a legal obstacle to resolving the issue.

“Knowing that Serbia's approach to Kosovo is unchanged both in the past and now, I think it could be a legal obstacle to solving this matter”.

Whatever the new reality in Kosovo, Kosovo's independence implies that all international agreements can be improved or exacted from now on, that the state of Kosovo or the Republic of Kosovo is heir to all international agreements”, Dugolli says.

The implementation of this agreement, according to business community representatives, has not shown any success for local producers.

Kosovo Producers Club Executive Director Astrit Panja for Radio Free Europe says CEFTA's effects on Kosovo have been political rather than economic.

The biggest problems we have today are that CEFTA countries apply numerous barriers to Kosovo products, while these countries can better sell to Kosovo”.

“Based on a general analysis of what Kosovo's benefits are in CEFTA, it turns out that Kosovo has given CEFTA much more than it has received from it”, Panja says.

According to official data import of products from CEFTA countries in Kosovo in the past year has been over 753m euros, while export goods in Kosovaque in member states of CEFTA is over 144m euros.

But, according to Bujar Dugolli, Kosovo institutions and the business community have not taken advantage of all the opportunities CEFTA agreement has provided.

“As an agreement there has been and it is possible that Kosovo's local products or economy will be protected under certain circumstances, as the agreement allows. While withdrawing from international agreements I think it is action that can cost Kosovo because any new agreement from the beginning can have problems of political nature”, Dugolli points out.

Otherwise, seven months after CEFTA membership on February 17th 2008, Kosovo declared independence.

Yes, that year, Kosovo state authorities also changed customs stamps from UNMIK to Kosovo Customs Seals.