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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
More than two months have passed since the European Union imposed sanctions on Kosovo for the first time, to punish Kosovo's course of action in forcibly installing new Albanian mayors in municipal buildings in the north of the country, as well as its course of inaction for extension of the situation there.
These measures, which were introduced on June 28, are still in force.
The president of the Economic Chamber of Kosovo, Lulzim Rafuna, also spoke about these punitive measures, who said that Kosovo has been damaged in two areas.
According to Rafuna, firstly the issue of image has been damaged and secondly in material terms, adding that Kosovar companies have suffered.
"The punitive measures imposed on Kosovo have damaged Kosovo in two areas. The first, in terms of image, has not been a good image, it has not been a good message, for foreign investors and the second is in the material aspect, where our companies have suffered, the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo have also suffered." - said Rafuna for Ekonomia Online.
Among other things, he also mentioned the case of the Digitization Fund, where he said that all the countries of the region received their share, while Kosovo was excluded.
"We had the case of the Digitization Fund, where all the countries of the region received their share, while Kosovo was excluded from the right to use its own share in the Digitization Fund. Now we are entering the months of September and October and if these measures remain in force and we act as they did with this fund, then we will be excluded from other funds and so our companies will suffer the most." - said Rafuna.
On the other hand, the prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that the European Union's sanctions against Kosovo have had harmful effects on the citizens, in the business sector and state institutions in the territory of Kosovo.
Speaking for Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK), Kurti praised the common focus on the European integration process as encouraging.
The Prime Minister hopes that this will help the countries of the region to become part of the European Union, while simultaneously contributing to democracy and economic progress in Kosovo.
"It is very encouraging that there is a general alarm for the acceleration of the European integration process, so that the countries that want to become part of the EU have such an opportunity more real, and democracy and economic progress in our country undoubtedly that give hope to the citizens of Kosovo, but at the same time also to the EU to help us more," Kurti said to RTK.
He argued that while Kosovo is fighting against extremism and violence in the north of the country, EU sanctions have affected the country's efforts to fulfill the obligations of the Stabilization-Association Agreement.
"There have been some sanctions against our democratic country, due to the situation in the north, for which we have no responsibility, we are fighting violent extremism there, where KFOR soldiers, Kosovo citizens and journalists have been attacked. It is true that the citizens are suffering from these measures, the business community, but also the state agencies in terms of the stabilization association agreement, which is not moving forward. All grants have been suspended, and lifting these measures is the right thing for the EU to do." - stated Kurti.
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