“model market”

Kosovo does not own oil derivative refinerys, so this almost most wanted product in Kosovo is imported from countries in the region and Europe. In contrast, cases of oil smuggling and derivatives in the northern part of Kosovo have also been recorded on the border with Serbia.

The Kosovo Oil Association has often shown concern that 97 per cent of the oil entering Kosovo is not controlled, but only descriptions of analysis are made.

Fadil Berjan, chairman of this association, told Radio Free Europe that repeatedly it has been required that the quality control of oil derivatives be realised at the border points.

The liquefied oil fuel plants are entering Kosovo with poor quality, and is being manipulated with this product through gas stations within Kosovo's territory. Measures must be taken as soon as possible”, Berryan said.

In an effort to improve and establish order in the oil sector, the Ministry of Trade and Industry in February of this year, it has approved an Administrative Guide for the Quality of Oil Juiced Fuels, under which the monitoring of fuel quality is done at customs stations and not by inspection troops, as oil has entered the Kosovo market.

Due to suspicion of oil quality, it has been several days since over 40 trucks with this product have been blocked at the customs terminal in Morina. In a response to Radio Free Europe, the spokesman for this agency, Adriatic Stavileci, said that since assuming responsibility, according to administrative direction, Dogana has applied the control system based on risk analysis.

The latest case, he says, is related to exceeding the parameters allowed for several oil deliveries.

“According to analysis, exceed parameters is very high, so samples have been sent once again for super analysis in a laboratory outside the state of Kosovo”, Stavileci said.

Towns blocked at the border belong to three companies that are considered the biggest in the sector in Kosovo.

The case is disturbing, says Fadil Behrani, not providing customers for oil quality in the Kosovo market, which is imported from various European countries.

This shows about suspicious goods. It means, it's blocked by over 30 Autobots, it's all out of the law. This is disturbing. Fuel stations inside Kosovo's territory are not mixing the derivative, but the derivative is entering with poor quality”, Berjan said.

On the other hand, Lulzim Syla, chief inspector of the Market under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, says competent for controlling oil quality control at the border is Kosovo Customs, while the MTI Inspectorate is competent for monitoring oil quality within the Kosovo market.

It shows that this inspection body constantly controls the market for eventual irregularities.

We, as chamber inspectors of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, received about 580 samples last year, out of this number 34 have emerged unconformed administrative instruction. The biggest problem was not with sulphur, but with the lighting point. But, whatever it is, an inch of every little parameter that deviates, we as inspectors are obliged to process the subject in competent courts”, says Syla.

The weak quality of oil derivatives, the lack of free territories to act, the establishment of privileges for certain oil companies, the ever-checking of this product's distribution, the failure of these million-calculated economic operators are just some of the irregularities mentioned in the sector.