Minister Hoxha: Tax does not concern visa liberalisation

Since placing the tax on goods of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the address of the Ministry of European Integration from various states has come many demands for its withdrawal.
Despite the demands of Kosovo's friendly states, European Integration Minister Done Hoxha states there is no tendency from the European Union for the fate of visa liberalisation to be linked to the tax.

Hoxha says several processes are being linked in the country, which have nothing to do with political processes.

In Kosovo it is always a tendency to link certain processes that have nothing to do with political processes with things or situations in general. It's not that we have information that there are tendencies toward liberalisation with the tax. But I have to explain that since the tax was issued, we have had continued demands of member states to suspend the tax. Now we are also seeing pressure from many friendly EU partner countries, but the US is thus putting pressure on Kosovo. Of course we have our reasons for putting the tax, so the reasons are, there are, and day and day, the entire”, Hoxha said.

Hoxha adds that Kosovo must be committed to maintaining partnerships with friendly countries, especially the United States of America.

“We are also committed to maintaining the partnership that we have maintained for years especially with the United States, so we have to get out of this situation because there's not a requirement that we're willing to suspend the tax because of Serbia, but if our United States friends have stayed close to us and we also have to look at how we can maintain this partnership and this friendship because especially in this phase where we're very important not only with the United States, but also with the EU-guards saved<1>, Hoxha added.

As far as visa liberalisation is concerned, Hoxha says it does not give the date, as according to her, it is not up to the country's institutions.

According to the Minister of Integration, the decision belongs to the member states of the European Union.

I never said we were or in June the visas would be liberalised. We are in the last step, and this last step depends on all of EU member states and I see it as real that we can no longer expect anything before the end of the EU elections that are in late May, that is, the European Parliament and no member state wants either to think about matters because they have even begun campaigns of Europarlamen and do not want to do anything that would risk the extreme right-wing forces to grow to % in these elections. We have one case and we are asking that it is the Kosovo issue to enter the agenda in June, now it's all up to EU member states”, Hoxha told Online Economy.

The first Kosovo integration into the European Union expresses disappointment with this delay of Kosovo citizens over free movement. She adds that everything is being transformed into politicised processes.

“We have also expected at least on the basis of statements by top EU officials, we have expected a more active approach and we can say that it is also a technical process with meeting the criteria you will receive liberalisation, but we are not seeing that in the case of Kosovo everything is becoming a politicised process. For this I am disappointed and certainly disappointed to see citizens waiting for months for a single visa term, which in the end does not mean that it will result in positive”, Hoxha suggested.

IPA pre-membership funds, according to Hoxha, have increased year-on-year.

She says that not only have we not lost funds from the EU, but Kosovo will continue to be their beneficiary.

IPA's <x0... IPA funds have increased by year, we can start from 2016 when they were 73 million, in 2017 they have become 83 million, in 2019 they have 90.5 million, and in 2019-20 there will be 100 million,200 million for 2 years. Not only have we not lost funds now in the process of the IPA3 programme and we expect the Republic of Kosovo to also be and continue to benefit European Union funds”, she said.

Hoxha claims that the start of implementing deposit projects are under way, which will significantly improve the environment in the country.

“We are now in the process of implementing deposit projects, dangerous waste management or dangerous waste management, which is a storage facility that will be built in Fushe Kosovo and will significantly improve a challenge that we only see daily, that we have environmental and air pollution, then another project that will also positively impact is also through funding IPA that will be financed is also changing filters in Kosovo B that will obviously help improve air quality”, Hoxha said.

Stabilisation Agreement The association turns out to be implemented by Kosovo according to expectations. Hoxha says it should be even faster implemented.

The “for 2019 target will be 70% so even though we've set a target of 60% of us even this year for 2018 the report has turned out and we've exceeded our expectations, there's a fulfillment not of 60% but it's over, and it's 68.23%, in 2017, and we've also exceeded it for a %s smaller than in 2018 so the target has been 60% and it's met 62.73% but we need a faster implementation of”, she said.

Hoxha has announced that the biggest burden for the SAA is the rule of law sector, education sector and other reforms. It hopes that in 2019 there will be an even better co-ordination between institutions for the implementation of the SAA.