Trade reports between Kosovo and Albania at low point require immediate solution to barriers

In May in Tirana, the two Albanian governments have agreed to remove some of these barriers by July.

Although Albania's Ambassador Kemal Minxhozi acknowledges the Kosovo authorities' concerns, these bureaucracy cannot be solved by ultimatum, according to him.

On the other hand, Trade and Industry Minister Andrew Shala has warned the measures the Kosovo government can soon take to CEFTA member states.

The ministry says the Government of Trade and Industry, respectively, will have equal access in relation to Kosovo to each CEFTA member state.

We will maintain the same approach as those countries have in relation to the Republic of Kosovo... We also have several barriers which are tariffs that are set on the part of the Republic of Albania, such as street taxes, the scanner tax, and we at the last two meetings with the Government of the Republic of Albania, have sought to find a solution as quickly as these taxes implemented by the Republic of Albania do not reflect on it to make businesses between our two states”, states Minister Shala.

Ambassador Kemal Mixnozi, saying they have marked trade exchange increases between Kosovo and Albania in the first six months of this year, acknowledges that scanners at the border are a problem, but that takes time to resolve.

“of course the scanner is a problem, this issue is raised. Kosovo authorities have been looking for goods that do not come from the Republic of Albania, Transit, to consider the possibility of being removed, and this is being studied on the part of Albania's authorities. It is an obligation that cannot be passed on to a government decision to be removed. It's problematic, we can't say it doesn't, but it's a matter we're looking at carefully... The institutions of Kosovo and Albania are online for solving this problem... We have the first experimental year with the road tax, for maunas that have a larger flow has a decrease of up to 30 per cent, yet this too has been raised as a concern and is being viewed, but not in an ultimatum, as some institutions say”, says Minxhozi.

While the chairman of the Kosovo Economic Ode, Berat Rukiqi says of KosovoPress, it is fair to take measures against Albania if there is no will to elect barriers to the border.

Rukiqi says it is in the process of organising information from companies in terms of barriers emerging with Albania. OEK has distributed the questionnaire to those companies working in Albania's market.

These agreements reached between governments are only part of the problem. It is not that there is no progress on certain provisions of those agreements, but there are still many open issues which mean not just a decision or just an agreement between the two governments, but that many laws should be changed that allow common market to be accomplished... Every reciprocal measure functions in trade, but all opportunities must be exhausted to see if there is a desire to eliminate these barriers. If there is no will, every country follows the right of reciproity in trade relations”, Rukiqi declares.

While, in terms of MTI Minister Endrit Shala's statements for adding tariffs to Albanian businesses, Tirana's Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Nikolin Jaka says it is now not time for pressures, but for solving problems.

Even the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Tirana appealed businesses to hand over all complaints regarding barriers that exist between the two countries until July 15th.

Otherwise, Albania's trade relations remain dim, even though in recent months they have undergone growth by 40% because of the tax Kosovo has imposed on Serbian goods. Albania has exported products worth 205m euros to Kosovo in 2018, while Kosovo is worth 65m euros in Albania.