Restriction initiative rejected for old car import import

The members of the Economic Development Commission, June 26th, have in principle supported the initiative of PDK deputy Mergim Lushtaku, for changing and completing the Automedia Law.

Lushtaku's request was for Article 44 of this law to be changed and there is no criterion for the age of vehicle registration.

Contacted by the newspaper Life in Kosovo, Lushtaku said he has come with three proposals, one of them is Article 44 through which it requires no import of vehicles older than ten years.

I proposed three mothers. One is about the oldest car issue. I wanted this article to change because, on the matter of security and environmental protection, they shouldn't be the only criterion of age”, Lushtaku said.

He added that there are no restrictions in countries of the European Union and the US. According to him for conservation of the environment, there must be standard oil or derivatives, while, for sure, effective technical controls before the car is scheduled.

But, LDK deputy Hykmete Bajrami, a member of the Economic Development Commission, has expressed reservations to this proposal. She told the JNK that she supported the initiative in the first place because at some points she has a pro attitude, but not for Article 44.

I personally have reservations to change Article 44 due to the removal of the car age limit. I don't know if it's right to remove this criterion for the only fact that no less than in January of this year, we've entered as capital on top of the list into the most polluted air spots. No one can say that old cars do not contribute to”, Bajrami said.

Bajrami said they have no analysis showing that citizens have complained about the restriction.

Rinora Goyanni, from KOSID, estimates that this change should not be made. Goyanni added that when the restriction has been made, the move has been welcomed.

These changes should not be made because we know what old cars we have in Kosovo and in wintertime because of transportation, we have the state of harmful and dangerous air for human health. This has been one of the measures we've outlined when the limit has been made”, Goyanni told the JNK newspaper.

Such a thing should not now change wine, for winter is a state of bad air.

The “should not be removed, it has not been a year since this ban has been decided, and there is now no real reason why it is being done when we know what cars are coming to Kosovo”, Goyanni said.

Goyanni added that the criterion would have to be engine and vehicle performance.

As we see that even registration-time criteria are not taken into account and cars that were not allowed to go out in communication should be taken by rigorous measures in this case to block the import of cars older than 10 years”, Goyanni added.

Ellen Frank Lajqi, from the NGO ERA, told JNK that considering that air pollution is a major environmental and health problem in Kosovo, the ban on registration of vehicles older than 10 years is a step (front) in addressing this issue.

The “however, of course, may not be the only solution, but it should be part of the air quality address plan we get”, she said.

Also, the paper has written that the new law on car registration restricting their registration according to seniority between January and 2018 affected the increase in imports before the introduction of this law. Import of used cars increased while interest in new cars remained at the same level.