Kosovo Says Albania is Stalling Over Free Trade

Kosovo's Minister of Trade, Bajram Hasani, told BIRN in an interview that Kosovo wants to scrap taxes between Kosovo and Albania for local producers and create a "joint national" market - but that Albania was stalling on the idea.

"We agreed with officials in Albania for a national strategy on a joint market," Hasani said. However, according the minister, Albania's government has yet to take any concrete steps to make such a plan happen.

"Albanian institutions do not have the same sensitivity towards Kosovo that we have for them," he said, adding that, "except for the will to work in this direction, nothing is being implemented".

After meeting manufacturers from both countries, Bajrami said it was agreed that the initiative should start with those producers who export most between the two countries.

"We agreed to identify 20 producers, ten from Kosovo and ten from Albania, that export more in both countries and open the market for their products by exempting them from taxes … to have an unified market for local producers," Hasani said. However, "Albania's institutions do not work enough in this regard", he lamented.

According to Hasani, the most important thing is that both the Kosovo Manufacturing Club and the Union of Albanian Producers remain interested in pushing this initiative forward.

Astrit Panxha, head of the Kosovo Manufacturing Club, told BIRN that according to data from 2017, Albania exported about 150 million euros worth of goods to Kosovo. Kosovo exported far less to Albania - amounting to about 35 million euros.

"It is evident that Albanian products penetrate the Kosovo market much more easily than Kosovar products do in the Albanian market," Panxha said.

The Kosovo Manufacturing Club said the most...