Oct 9, 2024 – Kosovo will now represent itself in the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), following a decision by the organisation’s Joint Committee to remove the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) as its representative. The move, hailed as a significant step by Kosovo’s officials, ends more than a decade of UNMIK acting on Kosovo’s behalf in the regional trade body.
Kosovo’s Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, announced at a press conference that from now on, Kosovo will participate in CEFTA meetings without the involvement of UNMIK. “From today, in the meetings of the joint committees, Kosovo will be represented by its institutions and without the presence of UNMIK,” she said.
Since joining CEFTA in 2007, Kosovo had been represented through UNMIK due to the unresolved status of its independence. However, after three years of pushing for this change, Kosovo has successfully secured the right to be directly represented.
Hajdari noted that this decision reflects Kosovo’s commitment to adjust its position in CEFTA and ensure it is recognised as a fully independent participant. “Participation through UNMIK in CEFTA has finally been withdrawn,” she said, adding that the change follows years of diplomatic pressure from Kosovo to remove the UN body from its representation.
The United Nations mission in Kosovo, through its head, Caroline Ziadeh, welcomed the decision, highlighting that UNMIK had played a crucial role in facilitating cooperation within CEFTA. Ziadeh called the decision “a path forward for new agreements benefiting the economic prosperity of the region.”
Kosovo first made its request to remove UNMIK in 2021 and had since blocked decisions within CEFTA as leverage to secure its demand. “There were 13 decisions awaiting approval since our letter was sent… Kosovo was committed not to approve these decisions until our request was accepted,” Hajdari explained. Following the removal of UNMIK, those decisions have now been approved, allowing CEFTA to move forward with its work.
An adviser to Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Jeton Zulfaj, confirmed that while Kosovo will now be represented directly, its name in CEFTA documents will include an asterisk or footnote, indicating that its status remains unresolved.
This change comes as Kosovo also benefits from the European Union’s Growth Plan, which Zulfaj said will be of significant benefit to Kosovo due to its strong democratic record and compliance with EU technical standards.
The decision to remove UNMIK from Kosovo’s representation in CEFTA was praised by Germany’s ambassador to Pristina, Jorn Rohde, who described it as a “big step” towards equal representation for Kosovo in regional bodies. Economic experts have also welcomed the decision, with Sytrime Dervisholli, a former head of trade in Kosovo’s Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, calling it one of the most important developments in recent years.
Dervisholli highlighted that Kosovo’s producers had faced significant barriers when exporting to Serbia, where they were forced to label their goods with ‘UNMIK/Kosovo’ instead of simply ‘Kosovo’. The removal of these restrictions is expected to ease trade for Kosovo’s businesses, particularly in Serbia’s Preševo Valley.
The decision follows Kosovo’s recent move to lift a ban on Serbian goods, which had been imposed as part of the diplomatic pressure surrounding this issue. Germany, in particular, had urged Kosovo to lift the ban, citing concerns over its impact on CEFTA and the wider Berlin Process, which aims to boost economic cooperation among the six Western Balkan countries.
CEFTA’s members include Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Moldova.
