Kosovo's Image Scares Investors, Meeting Hears

Corruption, weak rule of law and Kosovo's ongoing political crisis are among the top factors that discourage potential foreign investors, a meeting in Pristina heard on Wednesday.

Government and EU officials as well as representatives from the legal system deliberated on these obstacles in a meeting organised by the Group for Legal and Political Studies, GLPS, and the GAP Institute to discuss a new law on strategic investment.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Hykmete Bajrami, told the floor that one of the main advantages of the draft law was that foreign companies need no longer get involved in public procurement procedures to obtain contracts.

"We decided to create the legal grounds to negotiate strategic investors without the need of bidding procedures and without asking them to compete, because when we demanded this in the past, they left for other countries," Bajrami said.

Cezary Michalczuk, head of Rule of Law and Legal Section in the European External Action Service in Kosovo, said dedicated legislation alone was not enough to attract investors.

"Many people in Kosovo, especially in government, think a silver bullet needs to be fired and investors will come ? I don't think this is the case," Michalczuk said.

He mentioned the perception of steep corruption in the country and the unstable legal framework and the rocky political scene as crucial problems.

Michalczuk added that other small countries in Southeast Europe are doing better in attracting foreign investment, despite not adopting any special legislation, as they had "a stable political environment, a low level of corruption and some kind of foreseeability for the future."

Bajrami said the government had done its best and blamed the poor results on the...