26 February
SRSG Michael Steiner
signed UNMIK regulation 2002/4, “On Personal Income Taxes in Kosovo”.
It provides that starting 1 April 2002, employees in Kosovo will begin
paying income taxes, with the first payments to be taken out of their
wage statements in May. Those who must pay taxes include local employees
of public enterprises and private businesses, NGOs, government workers
and internationals employed in private businesses. Local staff of UNMIK
are exempt from paying these taxes, as are international staff in diplomatic
offices, technical assistance or humanitarian aid.
27 February
A two-day conference
on market economy legislation, hosted by the EU Pillar of UNMIK in co-operation
with the Assembly Secretariat, opened in Pristina. Participants included
members of the Assembly, as well as those of the legal and economic
professions, UNMIK officials, donors, representatives of Kosovo’s
business community, NGOs and the media. Having been the last in a series
of events designed to develop a first concept of a market economy legislation
in Kosovo, the conference offered presentations on the EU Stabilization
and Association Process in the Balkans and the recommendations for law
reforms.
28 February
Following more than five hours of discussions, leaders of the
three main Kosovo Albanian parties–Ibrahim Rugova of LDK, Hashim
Thaci of PDK and Ramush Haradinaj of AAK–signed an agreement on
the President and Government of Kosovo, breaking the deadlock that had
prevented formation of new governing institutions since the 17 November
2001 general elections. The three parties agreed that Ibrahim Rugova
should be President of Kosovo and that Bajram Rexhepi of PDK should
be Prime Minister. SRSG Michael Steiner said later that he was “very
pleased” with the agreement. Dr. Rexhepi as Prime Minister “will
be very positive for Kosovo–a doctor, acceptable to all and committed
to an inclusive, democratic and prosperous Kosovo”, he added. The
agreement also defines the allocation of ministerial posts, which will
be: four for the LDK, two for the PDK and two for the AAK. According
to the Constitutional Framework, one other minister shall be a Kosovo
Serb and one a representative of another non-Albanian community.
SRSG Michael Steiner visited Pristina’s Green Market, where
he spent his last remaining Deutschmarks, to mark the final day of the
changeover to the euro. Later, at his office, he met Bajram Rexhepi
who had been proposed as Kosovo’s Prime Minister. Then Michael
Steiner met the Commander of the Allied Forces for Southern Europe,
Admiral Gregory Johnson. In the afternoon, the SRSG gave a press briefing
on the agreement on the President and Government of Kosovo.
An intra-bank payments system that will make paying and receiving
money easier was introduced by UNMIK Pillar IV. The system will allow
wiring a payment and payrolls from one account to another within a day.
Businesses will begin to ask for bank account numbers on invoices for
payment purposes directly into accounts. Thousands of employee payrolls,
pensions and other payments will be wired directly into bank accounts,
bypassing the long bank lines or the office cash box.
1 March
Businesses and organizations launched Individual Pension Accounts
for their employees. The plan implies that there will be a monthly contribution
of 5 per cent of wages from employees and 5 per cent from employers
to go into each worker’s interest-bearing savings account. This
money cannot be used or spent by government or businesses and will be
paid to the employees upon retirement, at 65 years of age.
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