Economic barriers challenge trade co-operation in Balkan region

Dervisolli, director of the Trade Department within the Ministry of Trade and Industry, tells Radio Free Europe that there is space in this area for reports to improve.

“Trade exchanges with countries in the region make up about 30 percent of the total trade balance, meaning imports and exports. He's the second partner behind the European Union countries. For reports, I can say they are relatively good, but there is certainly room for these reports to be better in the coming years”, Dervisolli said.

The Kosovo government has almost already cut off economic-market relations with the two countries in the region, with Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, since last November last year it has imposed a 100 per cent tax on goods imported from these countries, which have caused imports from these countries to drop to 90 per cent.

Albania and Northern Macedonia currently remain states with which Kosovo has greater economic co-operation, trade, but also with these states respectively, not rarely have tax barriers been presented.

Representatives of producers in Kosovo have earlier confirmed that Albanian authorities are preventing businesses from being more present in Albania's market. According to them, producers from Kosovo are being shown tariff and non-tariff barriers, such as the case of the accysis of beer, then the follow-up procedures in Albania, the payment of scanners, the noterisation of analysis, the failure to take a bill price base from Albanian Customs and many other obstacles, which, according to producers, are undermining the competitiveness of Kosovo products in Albania.

And recent problems with Northern Macedonia were presented in June, when official Skopje had imposed tariff barriers to the fish rasat. Later, the Kosovo government had retaliated by imposing reciprocity measures for certain products of Northern Macedonia.

I can say that with almost all the countries in the region there are trade barriers, whether it's a tax or a non-tariff barrier. It is also known that in relation to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, political problems exist, it means that they make it even more difficult to do business for Kosovo businessmans. However, there are also barriers to the state of northern Macedonia and Albania”, Dervisolli said.

Representatives of the business community claim that countries in the region have not always implemented the Free Trade Agreement with the Western Balkan countries (CEFTA), which allows equal treatment of all states.

Agim Sahin, chairman of the New Kosovar Alliance, in a conversation for Radio Free Europe, says the political situation has also consistently affected trade exchanges.

The non-tariffers have repeatedly been addressed to Kosovo businesses in front of other countries. I think that Kosovo, in most cases, is bringing the demands of businesses in line. But politics has always been what has consistently influenced economic processes, and this continues to be a victim, so businesses have been victims of daily politics, and especially those nationalist policies in the Balkans”, Sahin said.

He also says that even the created political situation in Kosovo -- announcing early elections -- could affect the economic co-operation of Kosovo and the countries of the region.

The successive elections across the Western Balkans are related to the economy because they stop all projects. Even in Kosovo, the elections that have been warned, I can say will affect the country's economy, including trade exchanges”, Sahin said.

In contrast, the European Union has sometimes urged Western Balkan countries to develop joint projects, with European standards, in the field of road infrastructure, railways, but also customs, with the aim of facilitating the circulation of people and goods.