Lulzim Rafuna shows what is the goal of Kosovo customs union

Simplifying customs procedures and eliminating bureaucracy at customs crossings with Kosovo is one of the priorities of the Albanian government, highlighted several times even by the prime minister, Edi Rama.

In an interview for ATSH, prime minister's adviser for taxes and customs, Lulzim Rafuna said simplifying these procedures and eliminating red tape has only one purpose, the easiest circulation of goods and citizens on both sides of the border.

“During the mandate of Prime Minister Rama, very big steps have been made in part of integration and harmonisation of customs procedures between the two countries. They are huge achievements that have never occurred before, says Rafuna.

Prime Minister Rama's request, he says, is to advance further in harmonising customs and police practices at the border, to put back the old methods of work in the past and to adopt the most developed European methods of working for the control of goods and citizens of our two states at the customs crossing of Morina and Vermica.

For this reason the object, which is at its conclusion at the Morina customs crossing, is built to serve the two customs administrations, the Kosovo and Albania. It is an object that is built according to EU requirements and standards and meets all the conditions of the two administrations' joint operation in a single window. The beginning of work in a single window, according to our expectations, is to start at the end of March”, the prime minister's adviser said.

By stopping in the benefits of business from this process, Rafuna says they are huge.

The first time savings, because there will be a single stop to complete customs procedures for both Albania and Kosovo. There will be no need in the future for export goods to stop in Morina, once in the Albanian customs or police, and then conduct the same import procedures just 100m further near Kosovo customs. It will be a single stop for two customs”, Rafuna explained.

Later, he stressed, there will be a separate lane for Albanian and Kosovo-born goods, where the two countries' businesses will be authorised with the certificate of an Authorised Economic Operator by one customs.

This certificate, according to Rafuna, will be automatically accepted by other counterparts customs and goods will only be electronically registered, without the physical presence of the customs officer in the lanes. This is a European system”, Rafuna declares.

This method of work, he underlines, eliminates official bureaucracy, eliminates the demand for various letters, and all of this turns out to eliminate the suffering of citizens and businesses, to wait in line for long days to cross the border, which then increases the cost of business.

Our final goal is to make the flow of goods Albania Kosovo, and vice versa not to notice the limit. From a classic border to become a virtual border, which will not serve classical customs procedures, but only for the introduction of goods for the contractual international obligations we have in this case with the EU”, Rafuna suggests.

Furthermore, it suggests that the ministries of the two countries are working to create a concrete work plan with steps and decisions that must be taken to harmonise fiscal procedures and policies so that we can have as much ease in economic co-operation.

In turn, Rafuna also appeals to the business community to be organised in a joint body and to present their proposals that would lead to facilitating the flow of goods and capital on both sides of the border.

Rafuna says that every day and more, there is an increase in economic co-operation between the two countries' businesses, though it underlines there are spaces for more co-operation.

I am happy that each day more and more the co-operation of Kosovo-Albania businesses is increasing. But of course it's not enough, because there's too much space and opportunity. Integration through economic co-operation will put us in a much more favourable position for motivating foreign investments in our two countries, as a single market with approximately 5 million consumers. That would make us more attractive for investments than Macedonia and Montenegro, approaching Serbia. In this case, compared to Serbia, we have another big priority, where we cross it for the reasons of the very new generation of population we have, compared to Serbia”, he underlines.

Therefore, the prime minister's adviser follows, the Rama government is very committed and has the highest priority of advancing as much as in integrating and harmonising economic policies with Kosovo.