Mirko Sarovic, Bosnia’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Photo:EPA

Mirko Sarovic, Bosnia’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, on Wednesday condemned Kosovo’s decision to impose customs tariffs of 10 per cent on imports from Serbia and Bosnia, calling the move “intolerable”.

“Although we do not have all the details of the decision of the government in Pristina … this is an unprecedented decision, regarding the regional [Central European Free Trade] Agreement,” Sarovic told Sarajevo-based news site klix.ba.

Sarovic said Bosnia had informed the European Commission about its stance, and announced that Bosnia would reassess its presence in CEFTA at the next CEFTA meeting.

The head of Serbia’s Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, accused Pristina of undermining the ongoing EU-mediated dialogue with Belgrade over Kosovo’s status.

“The trade wars initiated by Pristina lie only in the sick heads of those who think they can do something – but they only harm the Serbian and Albanian people. No one can stop the flow of goods, or the flow of capital,” Djuric said on Tuesday evening.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Wednesday also said Kosovo’s move showed that it did want to continue the dialogue with Belgrade, but added that Serbia was still willing to continue talks.

“What are they reacting to? To Serbia’s position not to recognize Kosovo?” he asked journalists.

“We are not fighting against Kosovo, but for the basic principles of international law. No one recognizes unilateral acts, and Serbia won’t either,” he added.

He also said that a tenth country, Comoros, would announce that it was withdrawing its recognition of Kosovo on Wednesday, days after Grenada did the same.

This comes after a series of small states, Dominica, Suriname, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Guinea-Bissau, Burundi, Papua New Guinea, and Lesotho, also withdrew recognition of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, proclaimed in 2008.

“The unilateral decision of Pristina authorities to increase taxes on goods from Serbia and Bosnia is no longer a question for Serbia but for the international community – whether they will respect the principles they are talking about at all,” Dacic said.

The Kosovo government decided on Tuesday to impose the customs tariff on imports from Serbia and Bosnia in retaliation for their “negative behaviour” towards Kosovo.

“We have imposed customs tariffs on all products made in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, excluding those of international brands,” Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj told the media, after the decision was made.

Astrit Panxha, head of the Kosovo Manufacturing Club, defended the move on Facebook on Wednesday, accusing Serbia and Bosnia of practising “dumping” prices for their goods in Kosovo in order to take over the local market. He said that Kosovo-based companies remained unable to export to or do any business in Serbia, despite the CEFTA, because their documents were not recognized; Kosovo transport companies are forced to register in Novi Pazar, southwest Serbia, or in Macedonia, to transit Serbia on their way to EU countries. “There are hundreds more other economical reasons [for the tarriff], starting from the energy sector, non-tariff barriers and the many barriers facing Kosovo’s producers,” he said.

European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic called on the Kosovo government to revoke the measures, saying they undermined regional cooperation and were in “clear violation” of the country’s obligations under the CEFTA.

Serbia remains bitterly opposed to Kosovo’s independence, and to its attempts to enter international organisations, claiming that Kosovo remains part of its territory.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only other former Yugoslav republic not to recognise Kosovo, apart from Serbia.

The new CEFTA came into force in 2007 and comprises seven countries, Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Moldova. The agreement is designed to stimulate economic development and the EU accession agenda in the region.

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