The Kosovo Parliament held an extraordinary session yesterday convened at the request of 41 opposition parliamentarians on the basis of the decision made by the Prime Minister of the Provisional Institutions, Albin Kurti, to gradually and conditionally abolish taxes on the products from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina from 15 March.
The session was attended by a small number of parliamentarians and only one minister, Blerim Reka.
The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, led by Ramush Haradinaj, is the fiercest opponent of the abolition of taxes. During yesterday’s parliamentary session, the media in Pristina published the letter that Kurti sent to the President and the US Secretary of State, Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo respectively, about the decision to abolish taxes on central Serbia, starting on March 15, first on raw materials.
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During the debate, Albin Kurti said that he was against land swap with Serbia and that the current President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, did not have the authority to sign any such agreement with Belgrade.
“That will not happen. I know there was a plan for Kosovo to abolish taxes and start a dialogue, but there will be no land swap,” said Kurti.
He was also against the opposition’s proposal, made by Ramush Haradinaj, not to abolish taxes on the products from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, arguing that Pristina would have forced Belgrade to recognize Kosovo’s independence even without that measure.
Speaking at the session, Kurti said that there are much smarter ways to do this and he thinks that Belgrade has used the introduction of taxes as an excuse to refuse the dialogue.
He added that the effect of 100% taxes on products from Central Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was minimal, because, as he said, the measure has not been properly implemented.
“I believe that the resolutions of the Kosovo Assembly are not just a piece of paper, but decisions that should be implemented. Serbia has used taxes as an excuse to refuse any dialogue. On the other hand, the effect of the tax was minimal because it was not implemented properly. When Kosovo’s car number plates are recognized that means the recognition of the state. We must force Serbia to recognise us,” said Kurti.
“A smarter way to achieve our goals is to introduce reciprocity into everything, which means equality. The reciprocity agreement, which was adopted in Brussels has not been implemented,” Kurti concluded.
(RTV, 02.03.2020)
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