Government denies citizens' flight

Prime Minister Haradinaj has questioned the credibility of internationally recognised institutions to deny that the departure of citizens from Kosovo is taking place.

Haradinaj has called the World Bank's consisting of the loss of 17 thousand jobs, as has European Union statistics (EUROSTAT), which say Kosovo has had the largest population decline in Europe in the last decade. Exactly from 2007 Kosovo has released 15 percent of its population, writes Koha Ditore today.

Haradinaj is not dealing with the phenomenon of leaving citizens, but has raised doubts that these figures are being presented with a tendency to manipulate opinion.

“Recent real migration statistics show that Kosovo is not at risk of migration, marking the smallest trend over the years with only 315 cases of migration demand in 2018, compared with 2015, when 67,545 people had emigrated. And in 2018, 727 Kosovo citizens have voluntarily returned. This clearly shows a high decline in migration and that Kosovo citizens respect the basic principles of free movement”, Haradinaj wrote on Thursday.

“Inaccurate data, with or without purpose, and manipulation with visa applications figures, which in most cases are tourist, official and working visas, and visits and family unions that citizens apply simultaneously to several embassies and the same several times within the year, seriously damage the visa liberalisation process”, he added.