Economic areas in Kosovo without positive effect, depoliticisation and advancing needed laws

Economic issues experts in the country say most of these economic areas have been established without any economic analysis in relation to the international market, in relation to foreign investments and in relation to trade liberalisation in general.

Former head of the Kosovo Economic Ode Safet Gerjaliu in an interview for Online Economy says that in the case of Kosovo, decisions on free economic zones have been politicised.

Gerjalius, among other things, has added that the benefits could be enormous if they are economically oriented and in attracting foreign investors.

“All economic areas in the countries of the region have been based on economic feasibility and have had their reasonableness, unfortunately in Kosovo these areas have been politicised and the interest of political parties associated with specific interest groups, rather than the proper goal of economic development, and in which direction they have almost been more electoral campaigning and the opportunities to benefit from these areas are very large if they are well-oriented in economic terms and in the second place if they have to target the withdrawal of foreign investors without bureaucracy, corruption, and (4)x>

In Kosovo we have small cases of economic zones that have yielded positive effects, but with the rule of the law these areas can be part of economic development but always depoliticised and not just in bureaucratic terms”.

Even the head of GDP, Agim Sahini, says our country is not attractive to respond to economic zones, until it has added that laws must be advanced in terms of investor and business demands.

“Economic Zones are important in every state, but the current legislation in the country is not likely to respond to the economic zone and the laws must be replaced in line with investors' demands and meet the requirements that businesses have and investors in economic areas and that is not just an economic zone for our country, but to be the international economic zone”.

Sahin has also mentioned some of the benefits of economic areas, such as increasing transport, increasing financial transactions, and increasing opportunities for powerful corporations to come.

The growth of transport is very interesting, increasing employment, increasing financial transactions in the country, increasing the possibilities of coming powerful corporations to the country, and in the areas we have don't offer any extra service”, Sahini said.

There has been no analysis, and exactly the areas in Kosovo have been misunderstood what they are and in various European countries they are large capital areas, with strong interest and corporations”.

The law on economic zones in Kosovo envisions four types of free economic zones -- economic areas or industrial parks, technological parks and innovative centres.