November 7 (SeeNews) - The European Commission expects Kosovo to revoke its decision impose a tax on imports of all goods produced in Serbia and Bosnia, as it is a violation of the commitments undertaken by Pristina, Commission spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said on Wednesday.
This decision undermines regional cooperation and is not in line with the principles of the EU-Kosovo Stabilisation and Association Agreement, Kocijancic said in a video file posted on the website of the European Commission.
The commission is seeking urgent clarification about the announcement from Kosovo, Kocijancic added.
Kosovo's government said on Tuesday it will a tax of 10% of all products imported into Kosovo and having Serbia or Bosnia as a country of origin, except for products of international brands produced in the two countries.
Serbia and Bosnia do not recognise the independence of Kosovo.
Serbia will not participate in the next round of talks on normalising relations with Kosovo later this week if the government in Pristina does not revoke its decision to impose a 10% tax on the imports of all goods produced in Serbia and Bosnia, a senior Serbian official has said.
Pristina made its decision with the intention to further destabilise the political situation in the region, the head of Serbia's government office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Djuric, said late on Tuesday.
“This decision protects the state of Kosovo and above all the interests of local producers,” deputy prime minister Enver Hoxhaj said in a Facebook post after the decision was approved at a government meeting.
“Serbia is distributing large amounts of money to damage Kosovo's independence and sovereignty, with a large part of the money coming from trade with our country,” Hoxhaj said, adding that imports measures are the first step to protect Kosovo’s sovereignty and interests.
The EU's diplomatic service said earlier on Wednesday that Serbia's president Aleksandar Vucic and his Kosovo counterpart, Hashim Thaci, will meet on November 8 to continue their work on normalising relations between Pristina and Belgrade.
Kosovo, considered to be a potential candidate for EU membership by the European Commission, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008.