Government approves ceiling prices bill, health insurance bill

This is a new Kurt's attempt to strengthen these two laws, as the Constitutional Court had overturned both during its past four-year term.

The ceiling prices bill, known as the draft law on the provisional measures of basic products in particular cases of market destabilisation, also comes at a time when the large increase in the price of fuels in the country has sparked fears of price hikes, especially basic ones, in the country.

Within just a few weeks, the price of an oil liter at gas stations in Kosovo has reached as much as 1.79 euros, compared to 1.33 euros as it was on March 3rd, three days after the launch of attacks by the US and Israel against Iran.

Speaking at his cabinet's meeting for this bill, Kurti said: “We are bringing this bill for approval, which comes in the necessary response to a reality and experience that our citizens have experienced: sudden price hikes, uncertainty in the market, and lack of defense mechanisms”.

The bill sets a necessary balance between the free functioning of the market and the state's responsibility to protect public interest in extraordinary situations, according to Kurti.

The law on ceiling prices had been declared invalid by the Constitutional Court in 2023, when the court stressed that it was not in accordance with the country's Constitution.

Industry, Trade, Trade and Innovation Minister Mimoza Kusari '%a said during the presentation of the bill that the Constitutional recommendations were taken into account in its drafting.

She said the new bill defines two types of provisional measures: the appointment of trade margins for retail and retail sales, as well as the appointment of the maximum price allowed for basic products.

The past law, now declared invalid, named basic products cereal, bread, flour, rice, pasta, sunflower food oil, milk, kitchen salt, chicken eggs, chicken meat, crystal sugar, personal hygiene products, and wood for burning.