Momirovic: Consequences of Pristina's ban on Serbian goods devastating

BELGRADE - Commenting on Pristina's year-long ban on goods from central Serbia, Serbian Minister of Internal and External Trade Tomislav Momirovic said on Friday the decision was a precedent that had impacted Europe and the Balkans.

Momirovic said the devastating political decision to ban Serbian goods had led to a collapse of business deals and severed decades-long business ties between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, causing hundreds of millions of euros' worth of revenue losses, the Ministry of Internal and External Trade said in a statement.

"It is horrible that, in the 21st century, we are witnessing that, in a Europe built on the foundations of a common market and free movement of goods and services, there is a regime that has banned people from engaging in trade and economies from making progress," Momirovic noted.

He said that, since the enactment of the ban, he had written four times to the ministers of trade of all EU member states as well as their US, UK and Canadian counterparts to warn them of the devastating consequences of a policy restricting trade in goods, economic cooperation and economic development.

"Also, I warned them of how devastating the political as well as the economic consequences of such a policy are for the region," Momirovic said.

In spite of that, Serbia must preserve peace because it is only in peace that it can ensure growth and progress across the region, he noted.