EU: Kosovo to explain and revoke decision on import taxes (N1)
The European Union has said Pristina’s decision to raise import taxes on goods from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in response to what it feels is Serbia’s destructive behaviour, was unexpected and the bloc has demanded an immediate explanation of the move, media reported on Wednesday.
The 10 percent higher import taxes were imposed on milk and milk products, water, biscuits, construction materials and fruit juices.
Maja Kocijancic, the spokesperson for the European Foreign and Security policy chief Federica Mogherini, demanded clarification from Pristina's authorities since, as she put it, the measure “clearly violated the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), the Radio Free Europe (RFE) reported.
“The European Union expects Kosovo, currently chairing the CEFTA, to entirely respect the organisation's rules and to revoke the decision,” Kocijancic said in a statement.
The statement added that Kosovo Government’s decision undermined the regional cooperation including the economic relations and was not in line with the principles envisaged by the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and Kosovo.