Up to the jubilee of 15 years of existence of the newest European state, that of Kosovo, since its establishment on February 17, 2007, 90 cooperation agreements have been signed between our government and the Kosovo one (at the Prime Minister, ministers, customs directors other central and municipality mayors’ level, etc.).

90 deals, but hindered trade

Although the trade volume has grown evidently over the past years, the economic cooperation between Kosovo and Albania still suffers from misunderstandings, lack of information and real will between the two State agencies, beyond butaphoric patriotic statements. Of the 90 agreements so far, signed with the government of Kosovo, a good part are agreements in the field of economic exchanges between the two countries.

However, the history of bureaucratic procedures in customs and political obstacles with Kosovo is sad and still stands stubbornly on the way to liberalizing trade and booster private investments between the two countries.

Even for a truck loaded with fruits and vegetables in the amount of 1 thousand euros, the trader or entrepreneur of Albania or Kosovo must pay 250 euros in taxes and other mandatory payments. The current practice of the customs regimes of both our countries, forces the owners of the trucks to become smugglers, if they want to trade!

"We export to many countries of the European Union, but there are more obstacles when we export to Albania than to the EU", says Bedri Kosumi, an export entrepreneur from Kosovo.

According to a study from the Center for Exports of Albania, customs tariffs and bureaucratic obstacles at border are the reasons for the lack of significant growth in the expected level of trade between the two countries. The center found that to export goods from Albania to Kosovo and vice versa, the practice costs a minimum of 250 euros. This includes customs declarations, product certificates, goods analysis, the cost of the scanner for Albania, the cost of customs parking in Kosovo, but also in Albania, as well as the Nation’s Road tariff.

A solution to formal trade barriers

The Center for Exports of Albania, an NGO proposes the solution of the main deadlock, a software that must be implemented by both customs administrations, which costs only 50 thousand euro.

It records the moment when a business in Albania, for example a small fruit and vegetable business, loads its own truck or pickup truck to export to Kosovo. It automatically waits for the invoice where it marks the NIPT (business identity number) of the Kosovo enterprise that receives the goods.

The software realizes the online transmission of the invoice registered in Kosovo and sends the information directly to the Tax Directorate of Kosovo. Customs needs a reader only for businesses, to read the bar code of the invoice on behalf of the host company of goods in Kosovo, and vice versa in Albania.

Thus, the business on both sides of the border is no longer obliged to pay 35 euro for the customs declaration, 10 euro for the customs parking in Albania, 40 euros for the customs parking in Kosovo, as well as many other taxes and costs!

And most of all, the businesses will not waste time, hours waiting to get the required documents. This is really the "together without borders" approach. It's so simple. And it has not been implemented for 15 years!

These bureaucratic obstacles and big customs clearance costs have left the potential for the rapid growth of economic relations between our two countries as simply potential and illusive. Despite initiatives by both governments in recent years, such as the joint counter at the Morina customs point, or the Kosovo customs office in the Durres seaport, etc., as well as the numerous agreements signed, customs costs and bureaucracies remain like the Sword of Damocles on the future of our trade and economic relations.

90 agreements, but blocked investments!

Representatives of producers in Kosovo have claimed that the authorities in Albania are preventing businesses from Kosovo to be more present in the Albanian market. According to them, producers from Kosovo are presented with tariff and non-tariff barriers, such as the case of beer excise tax, then customs clearance procedures in Albania, scanner payment, notarization of analyzes, non-receipt of invoice price by Albanian Customs and many other obstacles, which, according to Kosovo producers, are undermining the competitiveness of Kosovo products in Albania.

In October 2021, the Open Society Foundation for Albania (OSFA) and the Kosovo Open Society Foundation (KFOS) measured in a questionnaire the attitudes of the citizens of Kosovo and Albania, regarding the relations between the two governments. More than 60 percent of respondents stated that the agreements signed so far have had no impact on daily life of citizens.

Even on the part of investors from Albania in Kosovo, despite the increased influx in recent years, their efforts are facing sharp problems.

“Mështekna” case

The company "Stella Consulting", among the leading investors in tourist resorts in Albania, with a capacity of 1,350 beds of 4 and 5 stars, responded to the call of the Kosovo government for foreign investment in Kosovo and its interest to complete the range. of tourism projects, with a project in the mountain resort, called “Mështekna”. Three years have passed now and a significant investment from Albania, worth 22 million euro, is blocked in the tourist point of Brezovica in Kosovo.

After making the initial investment of 4.5 million euros and the realization of the first 150 beds, the company is blocked from investing for the other 350 beds and is faced with State blockage, as well as media attacks in Kosovo. At the end of 2018, a general inspection of the Ministry of Environment of Kosovo blocked the works that were carrying out the rest of the investment in the resort "Mështekna".

The general inspection, after verifying the condition of all constructions in Brezovica, in a very selective way and without any legal argument, segregated Albania company's investment, blocking it, despite the submission of all construction permits by the latter.

The political reason for the persecution and blocking of investment by Albania lies in the fact that the partner of the company "Stella Consulting" is a personality of Kosovo’s political and public life, Mr. Veton Surroi. He has been a serious opposition to several political parties in Kosovo, by systematically denouncing corruption and lack of legitimacy in the behavior of various Kosovo governments.

Allegations of violating the permit obtained from the municipality of Srtrpce (which was actually obtained by a subcontractor, a Kosovar company) and of building in a restricted area are absurd. In reality, the investment is not located in prohibited areas for construction, but within the lower area below 1000 m above sea level, where villas have been developed since the historical formation of the residential tourist area in Brezovica, in Tito’s time, in 80s of last century.

The Government of Kosovo has all the time and opportunities to repair the damaged image and establish justice, unblocking the investment and allowing the investor from Albania to continue its investment in Kosovo.

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Costs of Kosovo-Albania Trade

Cost of a 10 ton truck to Kosovo

- Commercial costs (fuel, driver, depreciation)                                                  220 euro (61%)

- Cost of documents (Vet certificate Kosovo; Vet certificate

Albania; Customs tariff Kosovo; Customs tariff Albania; highway, Scanner)        140 euro (39%)

TOTAL:  360 EURO

Trade obstacles with Kosovo

• Requirement for notarization of phytosanitary analysis

• Cost for the scanner at customs

• Reference prices

• Cost of road (tariff)

• Corruption by customs officers

• Lack of trust in business partners

• Discriminatory excise on alcohol quantities

If Kosovo-Albania trade gets liberalized

- Businesses on both sides of the border will no longer be forced to pay 35 euro for the customs declaration

- 10 euro for customs parking in Albania, 40 euro for customs parking in Kosovo

- Many other taxes and additional costs.

Moreover, business will not waste time, waiting for hours to receive confirmation on documents.