Finnish Ambassador: Remove the tax, don't just think about visas and dialogue

Finland's ambassador to Kosovo, Pia Sterinvall, said the tax is not the right decision. She said that the country from it comes, is pro-free market, and thus suggests Kosovo will act for the general good. “

I think it's time for you to decide as Kosovars, it's a matter of Kosovo government and I have to come up with the government that whether to keep the tax or not, I come from Finland and we're big supporters of the free market, so, for us the free market is very important to be like a small country in the north and we need it every day, so if you look at this prospect it's certainly better for the future with Serbia as well that you don't have to have tax issues on both sides of”, she said.

Sterernwal said anti-tax reactions are also valid, but still insists that the free market is necessary for the economic development of the two countries. I think you have your reasons and I understand there's been a lot of negativeness coming from Serbia so I can understand what happens anyway if I see that in the near future as the little place you are and we're the free market is important to us”, she added. Sterinvall said the visa liberalisation issue depends not only on the country it comes with, but on all member states of the European Union. Finland's representative even says there is still work to be done in terms of Kosovo's free movement of citizens in the Schengen area.

She says Kosovo should not be focused solely on visas, taxes and dialogue, but should think about what Kosovo residents really need.

“It is not just us as Finland, it is not just an example for Romania that is the chairman of the EU presidency, rather it concerns all member states that should decide together and work together on the visa liberalisation issue still”. “ ... not to think too much of visa liberalisation, not to think much about dialogue, for taxes, but decide what you want to do in Kosovo, what you want to take for Kosovars, how Kosovo citizens can lead a good life and I think this is the most important thing”, she said.

She said Kosovo leaders should take more seriously other topics which directly affect the lives of citizens.

I think it's something that politics really needs to think about, what I can do to make Kosovars happy for 5,10, 50 years, what people are not wanting to live in their homeland and go somewhere in Europe because their life is not as good as having a good health system, a good education system”.

“People want to be treated well, when the sick can go to a hospital and if you start building your country and then everything will start later and now I think it's a lot because we need to concentrate on dialogue now but we don't want to concentrate on these questions”.

Styernvall indicated that Finland and Russia had once been in the same position as Kosovo is now with Serbia.

She told Online Economy that Finland decided not to fight with them but to make peace by focusing on building the state.

“We lost a lot of Russia in the war that we're not happy with, but we didn't decide to fight with Russia, we decided to leave Russia in peace, and we had to start building our country and our economy, to take care of our children, and in 1939 we were the poorest country in the world, and now we are among the richest, most educated, happy, most complete and clean”, she added at the end.