Republika e Kosovës
Republika Kosova - Republic of Kosovo
Qeveria - Vlada - Government
Këshilli Kombëtar për Zhvillim Ekonomik të Kosovës
The National Council on Economic Development- Nacionalni Savet za Privredni Razvoj
Kosova
_____________________________________________________________________________
Prishtina, 30.06.2015
NCED in its Second Meeting held on 30.06.2015, based on Article 9 of the Regulation on
the Work of the National Council for Economic Development of Kosovo (NCED), issued
the following
Decision
To establish four working groups which shall focus in the priorities and areas determined,
as follows:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Working group on legislative matters and handling investors complaints
towards institutions
Working group on trade issues and addressing trade barriers
Working group on improving the doing business climate, public investments
and quality infrastructure investments
Working group for attracting and facilitating Diaspora investments in Kosovo
The groups shall have the legal authority to request from respective institutions/agencies
data, materials and other information deemed necessary to address the matters within
their mandate.
Core group member
With the purpose of achieving higher efficiency and better coordination, a number of the
members in all of the groups will be the same, whereas the other members of the groups
are appointed depending on the profile of the group.
Members that will participate in all groups are as follows:
- Ministry of Finance
- Ministry of Economic Development
- Ministry of Trade and Industry
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development
- Kosovo Customs
- Tax Administration of Kosovo
Meetings of the groups
The group shall meet at least every two months. The group may meet more frequently, if
needed, and upon the request of any of the members.
The Chairman of the group invokes and chairs the group’s meetings.
Each member is entitled to propose the introduction of different matters on the agenda.
Group members are obligated to participate in the group’s meetings. Non-attendance
shall be justified, in writing, before the Chairperson of the Group.
The group shall have quorum if more than half of its members are present.
i.
Working group on legislative matters and handling investors
complaints towards institutions
‘Aftercare’ Services (care during and after the investment)1
Improvement of the legal framework ("de jure"), particularly in guaranteeing the investors
protection in fields closely related to the investor’s perception of political risk, could
significantly increase the investors’ trust. However, the greatest challenge that investors
face is the lack of implementation ("de facto") of laws, regulations, and contracts.
Lack of full (or even partial) implementation of guarantees accorded in international
agreements on investments often results in legal conflicts between investors and the
countries they operate therein. Investors critical problems/complaints are the reasons that
could cause investors withdraw their investments (cancel their expansion plans) or sue
governments for violating (non-implementation) their guarantees for protecting investors
in cases such as expropriation, limitation on transfer of profit, lack of transparency and
arbitrary actions by the government, non-observance of contracts or discrimination.
Establishing mechanisms that would ensure the observance of laws/regulations could
actively prevent investors’ complaints/problems and would identify them in a timely
manner and try to solve them. This would result in a more transparent and consistent
investment environment and would help address the concerns regarding foreign
investors’ political risks
Purpose and mandate
The group shall address and resolve complaints (challenges), which foreign capital
companies face, through efficient aftercare services (the care shown during and after the
investment) to establish a more favourable investment climate.
The group shall not handle local investors’ complaints.
Operation and scope
Matters that could be subject to treatment by the Group include (without being limited) as
follows: laws, investment systems, investment incentives, taxes, finances, foreign
exchanges, tariffs, customs, constructions, the environment, visa/migration, IT, industrial
ownership, etc.
The Group shall:
1
Aftercare Service- focuses in identifying, evidencing and managing disputes deriving from the
application of guarantees for protection of investments.
1. Analyse the current legal framework and propose relevant amendments in order
to enable this framework reflect facilitation policies and protection of foreign direct
investments;
2. Collect and analyse information regarding complaints from foreign capital
companies;
3. Propose new policies for improving the foreign investment promotion system;
4. Speak on behalf of foreign investors recommending the heads of
institutions/agencies to undertake reparative measures
5. Request respective institutions/agencies to report on the outcomes of measures
undertaken for addressing complaints;
In case of failure or lack of actions by respective institutions/agencies, the Group may
refer the case to the Council.
Based on the use of international and local laws as a mean to convince other public
institutions/agencies, against whom the investors has filed a complaint, the Group shall
ask them to reconsider if their actions are, in fact, compliant to legal applicable investment
framework (before the complaint escalates to a dispute).
Composition of the Group
The group shall be composed of:
- Minister of Justice – Chairperson
- Kosovo Investment and Enterprise Support Agency (KIESA) – Report of investors
complaint
- Legal Office of the Office of the Prime Minister
- Ministry of Finance
- Ministry of Economic Development
- Ministry of Trade and Industry
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development
- Kosovo Customs
- Tax Administration of Kosovo
- Ministry of Diaspora
- Kosovo Chamber of Commerce
- Business Alliance of Kosovo
- American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo
- The Council of Foreign Investors (until it’s the establishment, European Investment
Council)
- Association of Kosovo Municipalities
The Minister of Justice shall lead the work of the group.
The Group shall have its technical secretariat (composed of its current staff) that will be
led by the Ministry of Justice which will prepare topics and materials for the discussion of
the group. This Secretariat shall cooperate closely with the NCED secretariat.
KIESA shall submit regular reports regarding the investors’ complaints.
Members of the group may visit companies to gather information regarding the current
complaints and may request the opinion of third parties, if necessary.
In particular cases, the Group may submit its proposals and recommendation to the
NCED.
The diagram of addressing investors’ complaints
Submission of
complaints
Examination of the
complaint
Recommendation for
solving the
complaint/reviewing
the policies, etc
Notification of
the party on
the outcome
ii.
E-mail, fax, phone, visit to the
company headquarters, KIESA
report
Consultation with respective
institutions/agencies; visit to
companies; third party
opinions
Sending recommendations to
respective
institutions/agencies
NCED
Continuous monitoring
Working Group on Trade Issues and Addressing Trade Barriers
Purpose and mandate
Within the structure of the Working Group on Kosovo’s Trade Policy, the following subgroups have been established: 1. Working sub-group in Agriculture; 2. working sub-group
in Industry; 3. working sub-group in Services; 4. working sub-group on Trade facilitation;
5. Working sub-group in Trade Agreements. This mechanism shall bring together all
different government institutions, business associations, and civil societies. Sub-groups
are chaired by the Trade Department - MTI in cooperation with a co-chair from relevant
ministries and a co-chair from the private sector.
The purpose of these subgroups is to enable the private sector use these mechanisms in
addressing the barriers they face regardless to whether they are technical, administrative,
legal or fiscal problems and non-tariff, technical and trade barriers applied by the CEFTA
countries and others against Kosovo export companies.
Problems identified in the meetings are addressed, through these working sub-groups, to
responsible institutions with the purpose of solving them. Until now, these working-groups
proved to be very successful by solving some cases addressed through this mechanism.
The issues which could not be solved through working sub-groups have been raised and
discussed in the National Council for Economic Development of Kosovo (in its previous
composition).
In this case, NCED decided to maintain the current structure of the body and continue
using the same mechanism further, but strengthening it under the framework of NCED.
Group composition
-
Ministry of Trade and Industry – chair
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Finances
Ministry of Economic Development
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development
Food and Veterinary Agency
Tax Administration of Kosovo
Kosovo Customs
Kosovo Chamber of Commerce
American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo
Business Alliance of Kosovo
The work of the group will be led by the Minister of Trade and Industry.
The group will have its technical secretariat (from the current staff) which will be led by
the Trade Department of MTI, which will prepare topics and materials for group
discussion. This secretariat will cooperate closely with the secretariat of NCED.
Trade Department of MTI will submit regular reports regarding the barriers than the
business faces. Depending from the nature of problems, the representatives of
businesses from the sector of agriculture and industry will be invited.
In special cases, the group can submit its proposals and recommendations to the NCED.
iii.
Working group on improving the doing business climate, public
investments and quality infrastructure investments
Purpose and mandate
The group will identify the manners, methods and processes which will help in improving
the doing business environment in Kosovo, increase of business competitiveness,
elimination of obstacles in doing business, improve public investments, improve the
quality infrastructure and coordination of all processes related to improving Kosovo's
ranking in such indexes such as the WB Doing Business Index, the Small Business Act,
etc.
Operation and scope
Issues that might be subject to the treatment by the group include (but not limited): laws,
inspections, business registration procedures, certification of companies and products,
public investments in economic areas, fiscal policies, Kosovo rankings in international
doing business environments etc.
The group shall:
1. Collect and analyse information regarding the doing business environment;
2. Conduct comparative analysis of the business environment between Kosovo and
the countries of the region;
3. Collect and analyse information related to inspection of businesses operating in
Kosovo and recommend the simplification of inspections;
4. Analyse the importance and role of economic zones, business parks, business
incubators and similar facilities in the improvement of the business environment;
5. Collect and analyse information on the business registration procedures and
recommend their simplification, facilitation and modernization;
6. Review the possibilities and manners of certifying businesses operating in Kosovo
and/or their products in accordance to national and international standards;
7. Propose new policies for improving the doing business environment;
8. Speak on behalf of businesses acting in Kosovo, by recommending leaders of
respective institutions/agencies to undertake corrective measures with the
purpose of improving the business environment;
9. Request from respective institutions/agencies to report on the result of measures
undertaken to improve the business environment;
10. Analyse, review, and recommend other relevant issues with regard to improving
the business environment in Kosovo;
11. In case of a failure/lack of action by the relevant institution/agency, the working
group may send the matter to the council.
Composition of the group
The group shall consist of:
-
Ministry of Trade and Industry – Chairperson
Legal Office of the Office of the Prime Minister
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Finances
Ministry of Economic Development
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development
Tax Administration of Kosovo
Kosovo Customs
Kosovo Investment and Enterprise Support Agency (KIESA)
Kosovo Chamber of Commerce
Business Alliance of Kosovo
American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo
Foreign Investment Council (until its establishment European Investment Council)
-
Association of Kosovo Municipalities
The Ministry of Trade and Industry shall lead the work of the working group.
The group shall have its technical secretariat (from the current staff) which will be led by
KIESA that will prepare the topics and materials for discussion by the group. This
secretariat shall cooperate closely with the NDC secretariat.
In special cases, the Group may submit its proposals and recommendation to the NCED.
iv.
Working group for attracting and facilitating Diaspora investments in
Kosovo
Purpose and mandate
Kosovo has a large number of its citizens living and working abroad - in Diaspora, who
sent their remittances to Kosovo (cash, goods and services or direct expenditures during
their visits) in considerable amounts of money. Data published by different local and
international organization show that about 25% of Kosovo families have received
remittances from their family members living abroad. The total amount of such
remittances is estimated to be around 500-750 million Euro, and such funds played a very
significant role in the social and economic welfare of Kosovo families.
Diaspora is a great resource of the country which could be used as an adequate potential
for a sustainable economic development of Kosovo. The government program provides
considerable space to the Diaspora investment potential. Introduction of proper policies
in relation to Diaspora, and coordination, and promotion of such policies is a cross-sector
responsibility.
With the purpose of better orientation of the Diaspora capital and supporting Diaspora
investors, NCED shall establish the working group on attracting and facilitating Diaspora
Investments in Kosovo.
Function and scope
This group shall:
1. Operationalize governance program’s objectives in relation to Diaspora
investments
2. Address specific projects which integrate Diaspora in economic development;
3. Draft a coordinated promotion policy of advantages that Kosovo provides to
Diaspora businesses;
4. Analyse the current legal framework and propose its amendment with the purpose
of enabling Kosovo’s legislation reflect Diaspora's investment facilitation policies;
5. Work in identifying and also remove administrative and legal barriers for business
from Diaspora;
Composition of the group
The group shall consist of:
- Ministry of Diaspora – Chairperson
- Ministry of Finances
- Ministry of Economic Development
- Ministry of Trade and Industry
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development
- Kosovo Customs
- Tax Administration of Kosovo
- Kosovo Investment and Enterprise Support Agency (KIESA)
- Kosovo Diaspora Business Network
The work of the group shall be led by the Minister of Diaspora.
The Group shall have its technical secretariat (composed by the current staff), which will
be led by the Ministry of Diaspora, who will prepare the topics and materials for the group
discussion. This secretariat will cooperate closely with the NDC.
In special cases, the Group can submit its proposals and recommendations to the NCED.