Economy of Kosovo

Applying methodology developed by Ranking Digital Rights, an independent research programme at the Washington-based New America policy think-tank, BIRN analysed the practices of the two biggest telecom companies in each country: Albtelecom and Vodafone Albania in Albania; BH Telecom and Telekom Srpske in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Ipko and Vala in Kosovo; A1 and T-Mobile in North Macedonia; Moldce

The Kosovo government has allocated €40 million to cover unpaid electricity in the four Serb-dominated municipalities in the north. The funds will be allocated to the Kosovo Energy Distribution and Supply Company, KOSTT.

Kosovo will see significant price rises and an overall reduction in its purchasing power as a result of the high taxes it has imposed on imports from Serbia and Bosnia, experts have warned.

A recent assessment by Veritas Global, a Swiss company that provides economic services, claims that because of this significant fall in purchasing power, Kosovar citizens will buy less goods.

After Kosovo imposed a tax of 100 per cent on Serbian and Bosnian imports, citing their attitude of hostility, Kosovo appears to be replacing imports from Serbia with those from other countries in the region.

Kosovo Customs says Albania and Macedonia have benefitted most since the tariff was imposed.

Serbia's Chamber of Commerce said exports to Kosovo had fallen by 50 per cent since Pristina slapped taxes on goods from Serbia and Bosnia, while the trade deadlock continues.

Kosovo imposed tariffs of 10 per cent on products from Serbia and Bosnia for their "negative behaviour towards Kosovo", on November 6. Neither country recognises Kosovo's independence.

Bosnian foodstuff producers are worried after Kosovo imposed a 10-per-cent customs tariff on imports from Bosnia and Serbia this week, citing their hostility towards Kosovo.

The trade balance between the two countries is unequal; the value of Bosnian exports to Kosovo is about ten times larger than Kosovo's exports to Bosnia.

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.

US company Contour Global and the Kosovo government have reached an agreement over 1 billion euros to build a new power plant in Kosovo. It should be operational by 2023, Albanian edition Gazeta Express writes.

Businesses in Kosovo are protesing against what they see as deliberate attempts by Serbia and Macedonia to block imports from Kosovo, so violating their commitments to free trade.

Pristina economic expert Naim Gashi notes that while the total volume of trade between Kosovo and Serbia is worth around 450 million euros a year, the balance if trade is hugely skewed in Serbia's favour.

Trade between Albania and Kosovo is not meeting targets set by representatives from both countries, with Albania's exports falling in value in 2016 from around 157 million euros to 125 million euros annually.

The drop is fuelling concerns that small and medium-sized businesses are receiving inferior treatment.