Saturday, Sunday & Monday, 12, 13, 14 April 2008
ECONOMIC NEWS
Serbia Railways aims to take control over its Kosovo counterpart (Koha Ditore) Minister of Economy says Kosovo will be member of IMF and WB within six months (Koha Ditore) The auditing of the Privatisation Trust Fund shows no misuse (Zeri) Debate on EU integration held (all media) KEK’s new policy on replacement of stolen equipment (all dailies) KOSTT has paid €3,800 to the authorities of Serbia to release two of its employees (KTV, most dailies) Appointment of Shkelzen Cakaj in PTK at risk (Lajm)
Serbia Railways aims to take control over its Kosovo counterpart (Koha Ditore) The Director of Serbia Railways Milanko Sarancic expects his enterprise to soon “establish full control over the whole territory of Kosovo.” According to him, Serbia Railways is organising the traffic from Lesak to Zvecan, while just one month ago it was responsible only until Lesak. “The traffic should be established along the 360 kilometers in the South of Kosovo, which is under the control of the UN mission to enable normal functioning of transportation” said Sarancic. He said the decision of Serbian railways to expand its authority to Zvecan was not the plan of the Serbian Government but “a real need.” According to him, UNMIK Railways violated Resolution 1244. “18 months ago, without our consent or agreement, UNMIK has transferred its competencies to the so-called Kosovo Railways. 1244 says the Railways are still part of the POE based in Serbia and UNMIK’s use of it is temporary. They also sold part of our property without seeking our approval,” said Sarancic. “Our Railways in Kosovo has 330 km and there can be no changes. We plan, in accordance with the government of Serbia, to expand our control. We have no intention to take something that is somebody else’s property, “concluded Sarancic.
Minister of Economy says Kosovo will be member of IMF and WB within six months (Koha Ditore) Minister of Economy and Finance Ahmet Shala said on Sunday that Kosovo will be a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) within six months regardless of Serbia’s attempt to block Kosovo’s membership to these two institutions. “Serbia can not influence these two institutions, since Kosovo’s independence was recognized by the majority of the influential member countries. We cooperate with our international partners and believe that within six months we will be admitted within the IMF and the WB,” said Minister Shala adding that Kosovo needs to continue with the regular procedures required for membership.
The auditing of the Privatisation Trust Fund shows no misuse(Zeri) Citing a KTA press release, Zeri reports that the external auditor, in its report released on April 10th 2008, has stated that the financial position of the privatisation trust funds and the balance of the privatisation trust funds as well,
along with the cash flow in the privatisation funds from 2003 until September 2007 are in full compliance with the related legal and regulatory framework. Moreover, the external auditor has concluded that the internal controls by KTA are done in an adequate manner and operate effectively in the financial management, cash management, the reconciliation system and the financial procedures to ensure a transparent and correct process with regards to the privatisation funds held in trust by KTA. Minor errors mentioned in the auditing report have been corrected by the KTA management during the auditing process.
Debate on EU integration held (all media) The “Absorption of EU pre-accession funds”, a roundtable organized by Forum 2015 was held on Friday. The conference concluded that the Kosovo government needs to reform its administration to be ready to efficiently absorb funds from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). While addressing the meeting, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Ahmet Shala, said the government has approved the plan for European integration and pledged full commitment of his ministry to undertake all necessary measures to lead Kosovo to a faster admission within the EU The representative of the Kosovo Foundation for Civil Society, Venera Hajrullahu, while participating in the meeting said “the potential candidate countries for membership have wide opportunities to improve their ways of benefiting from the different instruments of the Stabilization Association Process, but they should also get prepared for potential funds in the future.” KEK’s new policy on replacement of stolen equipment (all dailies) KEK has informed the public that Mr. Remzi Shahini, KEK Managing Director, has introduced a new KEK policy on stolen equipment of the distribution network. The policy foresees that the replacement or repair of damaged equipment shall not be treated as a priority, unless: The wire or the cable is returned to KEK in such condition that the wire and the cable can be reasonably spliced and re-installed; The community or a donor provides the replacement of the wire or cable (provided replacement wire or cable meets the technical specification);
The community or a donor provides the funds needed for KEK to purchase the replacement of the wire or cable. The new policy measures followed continual theft of the wires and cables of the energy distribution network. KOSTT has paid €3,800 to the authorities of Serbia to release two of its employees (KTV, most dailies) KOSTT has agreed to pay a fine of €3,800 to the authorities of Serbia for the release on bail of two of its employees after they were detained by the Serbian army while performing their official duty in maintaining KEK’s electrical poles. However, it remained unknown whether they were arrested within Kosovo territory or outside of its boundaries.
Appointment of Shkelzen Cakaj at PTK at risk (Lajm) The appointment of Shkelzen Cakaj as Director of Operations in PTK by the previous PTK board of directors will most likely be annulled by the government of Kosovo, writes Lajm. As the paper writes, the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Fatmir Limaj, is expected to make an official request to the KTA for annulling Cakaj’s appointment. Contacted by the paper, Minister Limaj confirmed the government’s stance on this issue saying “The Kosovo government’s request for annulment of the appointment of the PTK director will apply to other levels as well.” Citing unspecified sources within the KTA, Lajm writes that the officials within this agency did not want to comment on the government’s objection of Cakaj’s appointment.
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