Mijacic: Redirecting Serbian goods to Merdare directly harms the development of Serbian communities in the north

Mijačić
Source: Kosovo Online

Dragisa Mijacic, Coordinator of the National Convention on the EU's Working Group for Chapter 35, states that the Kosovo government's decision to lift the ban on Serbian imports is as scandalous as the introduction of the ban itself, as in both instances, the decisions were made verbally, without written documentation. He also points out that redirecting goods from Serbia through Merdare, rather than Jarinje and Brnjak, directly harms the development of Serbian communities in northern Kosovo.

Mijacic reminds that 95% of customs revenue collected at the Brnjak and Jarinje crossings on imports from Serbia goes into a customs fund that finances the development of municipalities with a Serbian majority in northern Kosovo.

"Therefore, the decision of the Kosovo government to lift the import ban and redirect the transportation of goods to Merdare instead of Jarinje and Brnjak directly harms the customs fund and the development of Serbian communities in northern Kosovo, in accordance with what was signed in Brussels and the current provisions of the Kosovo government. In this context, the decision of the Kosovo government and Albin Kurti should be viewed as an attempt to suppress the potential development of northern Kosovo through the Development Fund," Mijacic told Kosovo Online.

He emphasizes that it should be completely clear that the Kosovo government and Albin Kurti made the decision to lift the import ban on Serbian goods under pressure from Germany, which demanded the lifting to prevent Kosovo from being expelled from regional organizations, especially CEFTA.

"We all know that a meeting within the Berlin Process is scheduled for October 14, where further regional integration will be discussed, and Kosovo, with its actions regarding the annulment of the Western Balkans Free Trade Agreement, the CEFTA agreement, has come to the brink of being expelled from CEFTA. Moreover, Kosovo cannot join some international organizations, and its actions are leading to its expulsion from regional organizations. Under this pressure, Albin Kurti somehow came to his senses and rescinded this scandalous decision, hoping that Kosovo would not be excluded from regional integration processes, specifically CEFTA," Mijacic emphasizes.

He recalls that the ban initially applied to the transportation of goods by trucks at all border crossings between Serbia and Kosovo but was later limited only to finished products, not raw materials.

"This is truly scandalous because it would imply, for example, that there is some suspicion of illegality with 'plazma' (a popular Serbian biscuit), but if flour is imported from Serbia, there is nothing illegal about it," Mijacic says.

The decision to lift the ban, which applies only at the Merdare crossing, is, according to him, an interim measure, as the Kosovo government could not decide for populist reasons to apply the measure at all crossings.

While trucks from Serbia will now deliver goods to Kosovo only through Merdare instead of multiple crossings, Mijacic believes that, technically speaking, this will not be a problem, as the Merdare crossing is integrated and quite large, with the capacity to handle a significant number of trucks and transport vehicles. He believes that major delays and additional queues should not be expected.

"But there is concern that many trade relationships have been severed in the meantime, and the demand for goods from Serbia may not be as high as it once was, as many substitute products are now available, and it will take time to restore business cooperation between the Albanian community and Serbian entrepreneurs. There is also the question of how goods will reach Serbian stores, as the main consumers may be members of the Serbian community. Whether there will be any issues in the transportation of goods remains to be seen," Mijacic says.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced yesterday that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had sent a letter to Kosovo customs stating that the "security measure" previously applied to Serbian goods would be replaced by goods inspection, but only at the Merdare crossing. The ban on Serbian imports to Kosovo, justified for "security reasons," was introduced on June 14, 2023.