A November ruling by the Supreme Court regarding the open energy market was not interpreted the same way by the plaintiff and the defendant. The Supreme Court had approved the lawsuit filed by the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce against the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO), concluding that ERO violated the law when it decided to push over 1,300 businesses into the open energy market. The Supreme Court annulled two articles of ERO’s decision.
However, this ruling has sparked another clash between the Chamber and ERO. Following the decision, the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce stated that the open energy market should be canceled entirely. Meanwhile, ERO insisted on the opposite, saying it would review the Supreme Court’s findings and amend the relevant articles. This interpretation is not being accepted by the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, which has now filed a criminal complaint against ERO.
“We gave them five days to reflect, and due to their failure to do so—either knowingly or unknowingly—we were forced to file a criminal complaint. We will not stop here; we are now in the second phase with our lawyers. But we will not give up because this is a legal right that belongs to us. Businesses have been harmed, whether ERO intended it or not. We are not to blame that no proper preparation was made to ensure competition before entering the open market. We are not to blame that the legal infrastructure was not prepared for a competitive market, and we are not to blame that the Government influenced ERO to take such a coercive decision to force businesses into the open market and cause them harm,” Rafuna told RTV21.
The Supreme Court stated that ERO’s decision regarding the open energy market created legal and economic uncertainty for electricity consumers. It also found violations in the categorization of consumers who were placed into the open market.
ERO maintains that the open energy market remains functional. However, it did not respond to questions on how it will act following the criminal complaint. Meanwhile, businesses continue to report damages. Nehat Geci, owner of a tile manufacturing factory, said the open energy market caused severe financial losses to his business and favored imported goods, especially those from Serbia.
“The damages are extremely high because our electricity bills became much more expensive. On the other hand, we cannot raise our prices because the market is flooded with imports from Serbia. For those of us in clay-based production, Serbian goods are direct competition, especially since their previous tax was removed. This means we are being harmed on both sides…,” Geci told RTV21.
The head of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce insists that businesses will be compensated for the damages they suffered—something he remains fully convinced will happen.
“I repeat once again: We are not to blame that ERO does not employ professional staff. I want to believe that the misinterpretation of the open market and of the Supreme Court’s decision was not deliberate. However, with these actions, not only are they committing a criminal offense, but they are also harming the state. All lawsuits from businesses affected by the open market will now return to ERO as compensation claims. Businesses will sue ERO, and the state budget will also be damaged because ERO does not have its own independent budget. I think ERO has gotten itself into such a tangled and complicated process that I do not know how it will come out of this situation. We hope for a new board.”
Despite strong opposition, the open energy market decision entered into force on June 1. Economic experts have described this policy as the most brutal blow to domestic businesses since the post-war period, as it made local products uncompetitive compared to imported goods.
