About 40 government officials in Berlin

A large number of officials from the Kosovo government are participating in the Berlin summit, which is being held today, besides Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and President Hashim Thaci.

Kosova Preris learns that about 40 officials from the government have travelled to Germany. While, according to the government's spokeswoman, six participants are only from the prime minister's office. Also part of the meeting is Foreign Affairs Minister Behgjet Pacolli and his adviser, Jethlir Zymberaj.

Also, a large number of officials who have travelled to Berlin are from the Office of the President of Kosovo, where media officials, even though contacted by Kosovo Press, have not responded.

However, civil society considers that a bad opinion has been created which is costing Kosovo not only politically but also financially, with tens of thousands of euros.

The Kosovo Government's spokeswoman, Donjet Gashi for Kosovo Press, says over the telephone that the cost of spending at the Berlin Summit will be made public after the delegation returns.

“Five are from the prime minister's office, which includes advisers and protocol official, plus the prime minister. But I don't know what the cost of expenses is. For the delegation's leader and part of the support staff, the expenses are covered by Germany, while the rest of the support staff are covered at the expense of the Office of Prime Minister”, Gashi says.

Artan Murati from the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) says of Kosova Prees, that there has already been a tendency for any meeting in which the Republic of Kosovo participates abroad, the meeting will be turned into a field trip with many unnecessary people who travel together with state leaders.

“At the Berlin Summit, the two main figures will be Prime Minister Haradinaj and President Thaci, and as normally they can take any council or protocol with them, as you want it, but such a large number of state officials travelling with them are completely unnecessary and are only extra expenses for the Kosovo budget. Now it's been created and it's become a tradition that happens to you, because for many people getting a public position, it's become a event for them, and once as long as they're in these positions the goal is to use it to maximum”, Murati said.

He says about 12,000 euros can cost Kosovo's budget only tickets to travel to Berlin, where the meeting with Western Balkan leaders is being held.

And we know that the cost of living in Western countries is higher than in Kosovo... that's a bad mind that's costing us not only politically but also in financial terms... ..and that the more people to the extent of the cost, as we know that the cost of living in Western countries is also higher than in Kosovo... that's probably a bad mind that's costing us not only politically but also in a financial aspect... the ministerium for an official return may be 300 euros, now 300 people, then 40 people for ticket or Berlin hotels can't be cheaper than 80, that's going to take a standard hotel, and then we can do some extra business and then we can't get another credit to get another hotel and then we can't get another credit to do it't and then we can't get some other business. But it's a huge amount that's spent where actually protagonists are just two people or they can go with a team of 10 people at a maximum”, he says.

Otherwise, over 12.5m euros of Kosovo taxpayers have been spent on official trips abroad by people of power during 2018.

Compared to 2017, there has been a 24.7 per cent increase in these expenditures, or nearly 2.5m euros more.