The President of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum (WB6 CIF), Lulzim Rafuna, visited the Chamber in Skopje today to hold talks about the ongoing issues related to the prolonged detention of Macedonian trucks transporting food products into Kosovo. The delays are reportedly due to the time required to receive laboratory test results.

At the joint meeting with the President of the Economic Chamber and Deputy Chairman of WB6 CIF, Branko Azeski, the following conclusions were reached after reviewing the situation:

1.    Trade between the two countries, as proven trading partners, must continue without interruption.

2.    To overcome the current bottleneck, the movement of trucks should be expedited. Instead of keeping them in the border zone, the trucks should be directed—according to legal regulations—to warehouses, where they can wait for the results of the laboratory tests.

3.    A risk-based assessment principle should be applied during physical inspections at the border crossing, rather than conducting individual checks on every single shipment.

4.    Both governments should initiate cooperation through their respective institutions (Food and Veterinary Agencies) to harmonize certificates and mutually recognize laboratory analyses conducted with accredited methods, in line with EU regulations.

The joint conclusion from Rafuna and Azeski’s meeting was that concrete actions must be undertaken in accordance with European Union policies and international agreements. Only in this way can both countries demonstrate their seriousness about the path they are pursuing—namely, EU membership.

During the meeting, the presidents of the chambers of Kosovo and North Macedonia also discussed the flow of goods and services, which has intensified and accelerated with the construction of Kosovo's motorway infrastructure. Increased functionality of the border crossings on both sides has encouraged greater efficiency. What remains is to complete the road infrastructure on the territory of our country, where ongoing construction works are still causing long vehicle queues that slow down the flow.