Shahini: The Issue of Serbian goods imports is artificial, solution should be found within CEFTA

Agim Shahini, President of the Kosovo Business Alliance, believes that the issue of Serbian goods imports to Kosovo—still limited to the Merdare crossing—is an artificial problem.

"The Kosovo Business Alliance has always advocated for the opening of all border crossings for goods traffic and the elimination of bottlenecks. At Merdare, the truck queues stretch for 10, 15, even 20 kilometers, with drivers waiting for days, which significantly increases transport costs. It is unacceptable for drivers to sit there for two or three days just to get through," Shahini stated.

He noted that the Kosovo Business Alliance has asked the Kosovo government to ensure a liberal market, and authorities promised that everything would be resolved once scanners for customs inspections were installed at crossings.

"However, these scanners are still nowhere to be seen, and the congestion keeps growing—just like the costs. That is why Kosovo and all CEFTA member states need to find a way to overcome this issue. We expect the scanners to arrive, but we don’t know when. And if we don’t have them at other border crossings, why should they be mandatory at this one? As the Kosovo Business Alliance, we would remove all restrictions so that goods and capital can flow freely in both directions without any issues," Shahini emphasized.

According to him, CEFTA has not addressed this problem, and Serbia, in his view, has not made a strong enough request for a prompt resolution.

"This issue should be resolved within CEFTA and the European Union framework. However, the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue remains a bigger issue than border crossings, and it is possible that this entire matter has been pushed into the broader political negotiations," Shahini concluded.