The Kosovo Government Requested the Dividend Payment from PTK And
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may 2010 may 2011 1 of decisions made by Kosovo Government The Kosovo Government requested the dividend payment from PTK and says no to a third mobile telecom operator Funds allocated for the beginning of the project “Zhur Hydrostation” The Government requests a review of the Market Model for electrical energy. Salaries of civil servants are increased by 30 Euros. Introduction2 may 2011 During the month of March, the Kosovo Government has held three regular meetings. A total of 30 decisions were made during these meetings. The decisions made deal with various issues, such as: the approval of draft laws (6 decisions), the approval of sublegal acts (1 decision), allocation of funds (3 decisions), the University of Prizren (2 decisions), the postal serviceand mobile telecom (2 decisions), the approval of documents and strategies (3 decisions), modifications within the Legislative Strategy (1 decision), the appointment of members on various boards (3 decisions), etc. For the second year in row, the Kosovo Government has received a dividend payment from PTK through an executive decision. After the approval of the Draft law on Courts in March, this month the Government has approved an additional three draft laws in the field of the judiciary, which were marked as challenges in the EU Progress Report of 2008 and 2009. A draft law was removed from the Legislative Strategy 2010, and now this strategy features 126 draft laws. Besides the approval of six draft laws, this month the Kosovo Government again remained behind in terms of the approval of the draft laws foreseen in the Legislative Strategy 2010. During the first five months of this year, a total of 26 draft laws were approved, which amounts to 20.6% of the Legislative Strategy 2010. The reports for all the decisions made during March 2010 can be found in GAP Monitor, the 17th in row and the first one in the newly designed format. This number of GAP Monitor, the reports about the decisions made, accompanied by the readers’ comments and opinions, can be found by clicking www.gapmonitor.org. Content: 1. The additional three highly anticipated draft Market Model for electrical energy. laws on the judiciary are approved. 13. The number of staff within the Department of 2. The administrative directive which changes Cultural Heritage is increased. the Law 14. Additional diplomatic passports are issued for 3. The Kosovo Government requested the the Chairman of the Constitutional Court and dividend payment from PTK and says no to a his family. third mobile telecom operator 15. Salaries of civil servants are increased by 30 4. Funds allocated for the beginning of the Euros. project “Zhur Hydrostation” 16. The proposal from MEF for the removal of 5. The intercity highways get expanded – a penalties for tax debts is approved. decision is made for the expropriation of 17. The Legislative Strategy 2010 is amended and properties. supplemented. 6. The Advisory Board for Environmental 18. The Draft law on amending and supplmenting Protection is completed and the Council for the Law on Travel Documents is approved Spatial Planning is appointed. 19. Attempts for the integration of the RAE 7. The Government approves the Development community–the Interagency Steering Plan for the University of Prizren Committeeis established 8. The Government provides financial support 20. The Integrated System for Emergency for the mathematicians association and the Management is established parliament member Ali Lajçi 21. The Draft Law on Establishment of the System 9. The new Draft Law on Access to Public for Securing Deposits for Financial Institutions Documents is approved. in Kosovo is approved. 10. Government proposes to the Assembly 22. The Regulation for the establishment of the names for the Procurement Regulatory the Office for Intellectual Property Rights is Commission approved with remarks. 11. The National Commission on Refugees is 23. The amendment-supplementing of the established. Strategy for the Reintegration of repatriated 12. The Government requests a review of the persons is approved. maymay 20112011 33 The additional three highly anticipated draft laws on the judiciary have been approved The draft laws approved by the Government, this rule is not based on any legal act. The legal have been prepared by the Ministry of Justice officers in the Ministry of Justice claim that, ever during March 2009. However, the Government since March 2009 when this ministry sent these has delayed their approved for more than one draft laws to the Assembly, they were unable to year. access the modifications and supplements made to the draft laws. Therefore, they do not possess During March 2010, the Kosovo Government the draft laws in their final format as approved by approved the Draft law on Courts. The new draft the Government. According to these legal officers, law implies the nullification of the current law – it is most certain that the draft laws have been Law on Regular Courts of ex-Yugoslav Republic amended; or else, there are no reasons for them – which dates back from the time of the Socialist to be held at the Government for more than a year. Autonomous Province of Kosovo. The Kosovo Government was under pressure to include in the content of the Draft Laws, one of This month, the Kosovo Government has also the 6 points of the Document of the UN Secretary approved three important draft laws in the field of General, dated on June 12th 2008 – where the judiciary: The Draft Law on the Judicial Council according to point 2 of this document “in the of the Republic of Kosovo, the Draft Law on State regions populated with Serbian majority, special Prosecutor and Draft Law on Kosovo Prosecutorial courts may be founded which would operate under Council. The Draft Law on the Judicial Council the Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security of the Republic of Kosovo was approved on the Council (UNSC)”. 124th government meeting held on May 13th 2010, whereas the other two draft laws were approved on In the meantime, while the Kosovo Government the 125th government meeting held on May 18th has not made these draft laws publicly available 2010. and has not sent them to the Assembly either, their exact content remains uncertain. The disapproval of Nevertheless, these three draft laws were not sent these laws was subject to criticism in the European to the Kosovo Assembly until June 14th 2010. Commissions’ Progress Reports for Kosovo in the These draft laws were not made available to the past three years. Likewise, these draft laws are public by the Government, on the grounds that also part of the legislative strategy of the Kosovo they may only be publicly available after they are government since 2008. officially sent to the Kosovo Assembly. However, 4 4 maymay 2011 2011 An Administrative Directive that changes the Law As a rule, sublegal acts serve to facilitate law enforcement, but not to change its content. On May 26th, during the 126th meeting of the Kosovo However, modification of the Law on Public Government, a decision was made (Decision 2/126) Procurement through a sublegal act, is not in for the approval of the Administrative Direction on accordance with current laws in power. As a rule, Signing of Public Contracts of a Medium and High sublegal acts serve to fulfill primary legal acts, Value. According to this administrative directive, but in no case should they be in contradiction in addition to the procurement officials, who had with the contents of the law itself. Article 24 of the responsibility and the right for signing all the Law on Public Procurement specifies that “A public contracts, from now on the contracts worth public contract that is not signed by the contracting over 10,000 Euro must be signed also by the authority’s Procurement Officer shall be void permanent secretary of the ministry and by the and unenforceable”. If the Government deems it political leader of the governmental organization necessary to change this section of the Law on as well (the minister, the mayor of the municipality, Public Procurement, it may do that only through by etc.). According to the Government, this change in Amending the Law on Public Procurement, which procurement activities was made with the purpose must be approved by the Kosovo Assembly. of clarifying the responsibilities associated with the signing of public contracts. maymay 2011 2011 55 The Government requests the dividend payment from PTK and says no to a third mobile telecom operator Within two years, through two different decisions, the Government has requested from PTK a dividend payment in the value of 280 million Euros. With the entry into force of the Law on Public During the same meeting, the Kosovo Government Enterprises, the Government of the Republic recommended the Telecommunications Regulatory of Kosovo became the legitimate executor of Authority (TRA) not to provide a license for a third shareholder rights in the Public Enterprise “PTK” mobile telecom operator in Kosovo for the next JSC and since then reserves the legitimate right to five years. This recommendation was given after request the declaration and payment of dividends to the Government concluded that the introduction the shareholder, from this enterprise. Such decision of a third mobile operator in the Kosovo market was made last year, on July 14th 2009, when the would significantly lower the overall value of PTK. Kosovo Government requested from PTK to make Furthermore, it would significantly influence the a dividends payment in the value of 200 million process of private sector participation in PTK. The Euros. A similar payment was required from PTK in TRA was made aware of this recommendation only the 124th Government meeting as well, held on May through the local media, while even after ten days 13th 2010, in the value of 80 million Euros.