Overcoming Barriers to Business and Normalization

The purpose of the Research and Policy Paper is to identify the existing barriers to doing business between Serbia and Kosovo and formulate recommendations for improving the business environment. The identified barriers, suggest the following:
- Examining and analysing Kosovo laws that regulate establishment, doing business, tax and other obligations of the companies, farmers and cooperatives relevant for the Serbian community in Kosovo (with an emphasis on North Kosovo where the “transition” to the Kosovo system is more acute);
- Examining laws and other regulations in Serbia (i.e. degrees) who regulates the status and doing business of the companies, including in the majority Serbian communities;
- Identifying established customs and identifying barriers for doing business of: “Serbian companies” registered under the Kosovo law in doing business within Kosovo and Serbia; “Kosovo” companies in doing business with companies in Serbia – barriers they are facing in doing business with third countries that are due to incomplete or unclear Serbian/Kosovo legislation; companies registered in Serbia that are doing business in Kosovo or would like to “independently” operate in Kosovo – recommendation for lifting the barriers,
- Analysing CEFTA Agreement, the way it is implemented between Serbia and Kosovo; recommendation for implementation of the Agreement;
- Determining relations between local self-government authorities in municipalities with Serbian majority in respect to giving incentives and supporting doing business, criteria for funds distribution and providing information to entrepreneurs about the conditions for doing business in respective municipality under Kosovo law;
- Policy of relevant Kosovo Ministries towards entrepreneurs and farmers in majority Serbian municipalities; access to information about possibilities of getting subsidies, and support to business development from the available funds of Kosovo Government; access of the laws and relevant documents in Serbian language;
- Analysis of the implementation of the agreements reached under the auspices of Chambers’ of Commerce of Kosovo and Serbia cooperation ;
- Recommendations for improving of communication between entrepreneurs and business people with the respective governments and/or local municipalities in order to lifting barriers;
- Proposing ways of providing adequate information to the business people about the conditions, obligations and responsibilities in order to enable successful and profit oriented business endeavours; i.e. option: to establish an innovation centre to enable the direct communication with business people, provide technical assistance and link them with respective institutions, located in Gračanica and North Mitrovica.