The American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo expresses its strong opposition to the recent decision of the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade to impose administrative measures that determine maximum trade margins for petroleum products.
According to a press release, the American Chamber recalls that the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo guarantees a market economy with free competition, limiting state intervention in determining prices only in strictly defined and exceptional circumstances. Fuel prices are not regulated prices under the legal framework of Kosovo and their determination through administrative acts constitutes direct intervention in an otherwise free market.
"Such an intervention violates the fundamental constitutional principles of economic freedoms, legal certainty and free competition, and creates a worrying precedent for discretionary state involvement in markets where prices should be determined by supply and demand," the announcement states.
In addition to constitutional concerns, the American Chamber emphasizes that this decision was adopted by an incumbent government, whose mandate is legally and institutionally limited. Incumbent governments are expected to ensure continuity of administration and refrain from adopting substantial policy decisions that materially affect economic activity, market structure, or the rights and obligations of private sector actors.
In this regard, the American Chamber draws attention to a judgment of the Supreme Court of Kosovo, which reaffirmed the limited authority of incumbent institutions to adopt normative acts with broad economic impact, and ordered the obligation of executive bodies to act in a restrained manner and within clear legal constraints. This judicial decision further strengthens the position that decisions with broad economic impact are reserved for governments with a full mandate and democratic and parliamentary legitimacy.
Beyond the legal and institutional dimensions, the AmCham reiterates that fuel prices are influenced by a wide range of external and structural factors, including international oil markets, geopolitical developments, regional supply chains, transportation and insurance costs, currency fluctuations, and local operating expenses. Administrative margin restrictions do not reflect these realities and risk distorting the market, discouraging competition, and jeopardizing security of supply in a highly import-dependent economy such as Kosovo.
Consequently, the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo calls on the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade to immediately review and repeal the decision on administrative price control, to respect the constitutional guarantees of a free market economy and free competition, to respect the legal limitations that apply to incumbent governments, and to address market concerns through transparency, competition enforcement and dialogue with the private sector, instead of direct intervention in prices. /Telegraph/
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