INFORMATIONEN  zum  WIEDERAUFBAU  KOSOV@ Inhalts-Verzeichnis
Kosovo + Kosova  =  Kosov@   (serbisch)      (albanisch)	Angebote und Nachfragen werden vermittelt bei http://www.osnabrueck. netsurf.de:8080/~dbein/ wiederaufbau.htm	Kosovo + Kosova  =  Kosov@     (serbian)      (albanian)

UN tells donors of plans for economic renewal in Kosovo.

SEPTEMBER 30 -- Privatization of some publicly owned industries in Kosovo will help spur economic revival in the territory, the United Nations told major international donors gathered in Washington this week.

In a report presented to finance ministers meeting on 28 September to consider reconstruction throughout South East Europe, Joly Dixon, who leads the UN reconstruction effort in Kosovo, said that the privatization of some small and medium businesses, notably food processing and construction, could contribute to economic growth by next spring.

The report, outlining a medium-term plan for economic renewal in the territory, highlights the need for private sector development to build the Kosovo economy constrained by restrictive policies for a decade and starved for international investment. In addition, development of the banking system and regulatory framework were vital to transforming the currently cash-based system, into a modern and thriving economy.

Mr. Dixon reported to the governments financing much of Kosovo's reconstruction that already public revenues, in the form of customs duties and tax payments, were flowing into Kosovo's coffers, thanks to the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) efforts since July to restart the Kosovo economy.

While Kosovo will clearly remain reliant on international assistance for some time, public revenues, which are projected to be under DM 50 million this year, could next year jump to above DM 200 million, according to tentative budget figures in the report.

 
U.N. mission calls for fast privatization in Kosovo.
Finance ministers of Kosovo donor countries were shown on Sept. 28, a program for the reconstruction of the province that envisages the quick privatization of a number of small and medium companies, either by internal voucherization or by sale at auctions, that would allegedly increase heir growth as early as spring, 2000. Currently, the dominant view is that large state-run companies (66 of the 200 state-run companies are considered big) should not be privatized before elections are held, while certain state-run companies would be offered to investors through tenders in a pilot privatization program that could start next year. Serbian companies and the Serbian government oppose this idea and are unwilling to be deprived of their property. The experts who put the program together for the U.N. Mission in Kosovo claim that agricultural production in Kosovo is almost at a standstill, that mines are partially barring access to farmland, and that demand for wood for construction is endangering Kosovo forests. Some food manufacturing plants have been destroyed while others have been looted. The interim U.N. administration in Kosovo envisages cutting jobs in public services from 120,000 to 52,000, and expanding the financial basis, that is to say, starting taxation in addition to customs duties that are already being collected.

(...)

Montenegro, Kosovo to lose some sanctions on Oct. 4.
Marathon procedures for exempting Kosovo and Montenegro from the embargo on oil exports and flights ban imposed on Yugoslavia will be concluded on Oct. 4, Yugoslav media learned from diplomatic sources in Brussels. The European Commission will on Sept. 28, submit a formal proposal to the committee of permanent representatives of EU countries for implementation of the exemption from the sanctions, that will then be sent to the Council of Ministers for adoption at their next session. First EU justice and interior ministers will meet in Brussels on Oct. 4, and are expected to adopt the decision without a discussion, the sources said, adding that adoption of the exemption decision had been delayed because of "procedural translational difficulties." On the other hand, Montenegrin officials claim that planes belonging to its national air carrier, Montenegro Airlines, will lift off for EU countries as early as Oct. 1

(...)

U.S. lifts customs duties for products from Balkan countries, except Yugoslavia.
Making good on a promise it made at a July 29-30 summit of of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe held in Sarajevo, the U.S. began urgent preparations for a bill on a trade initiative for southeastern Europe that would make goods from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Macedonia exempt from customs duties over a five-year period by way of a system of general preferences. The U.S. will also back the integration of the Balkan region into the world economy by getting the World Trade Organization to support these countries. Despite promises from the government in Zagreb, Croatia has not been able to get WTO membership and has accused France of blocking its application (which has France denied).

Mail senden