| Stability Pact’s Busek Expresses Interest in LED Corridor VIII Activity
In answer to a recent
letter sent to him by our Network describing the objectives and
activities of the “LED Along Corridor
VIII” project, Erhard Busek, The Special Co-ordinator of
the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, responded that he
was very interested to learn about the Network’s activities
in support of the corridor. He commended the group for our regional
approach and our efforts “to ensure that local communities
benefit from the potential created by this vital transportation
project.”
Mr. Busek
went on to point out that the development and strengthening of
economic cooperation among the countries of the SE Europe region
is central to the objectives of the Stability Pact and that “the
close co-operation among local governments and communities stimulated
by your network reflects our view that considerable progress is
being made in the region.”
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Bulgaria and Albania sign Trade and Transportation Cooperation Agreements
In a late March visit to Tirana by Bulgarian Prime Minister
Simeon Saxe-Coburg, three agreements were signed between the two
countries covering issues related to trade, transportation and
education. During his stay, Prime Minister Saxe-Coburg met with
Albanian President Alfred Moisiu, Prime Minister Fatos Nano, and
Parliament Speaker Servet Pellumbi. Discussions were held on a
variety of issues including regional infrastructure projects, organized
crime, and bilateral economic and political relationships.
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Albania Appoints New Customs Director
The Government of Albania announced in late March the appointment
of a new Director of Customs, replacing the previous director who
resigned two weeks previously. The new director will be Tatjana
Kongoli, who previously served as Economic Assistant to the Permanent
Representative of the International Monetary Fund in Tirana. She
announced that her top priorities at the Customs Department will
be to fight against corruption, smuggling and evasion of custom
duties.
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Achievements
and Problems Noted on Trade and Transport Facilitation In Southeast Europe
Project in 2002 Progress Report
A progress report for the year
ending 2002 was recently issued on the Trade and
Transport Facilitation In Southeast Europe (TTFSE) project citing
positive
achievements. TTFSE is a four-year initiative funded by the World
Bank and other donor agencies that aims to strengthen and modernize
the customs administrations
and other border control agencies in Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. The program seeks
two development objectives:
to reduce non-tariff costs to trade and transport, and to prevent
smuggling and corruption at border crossings.
The project
hopes to achieve these objectives by: supporting customs reform; strengthening
mechanisms of interaction and cooperation between
private
and public parties at regional, national and local levels; disseminating
information and provide training to the private sector; financing
infrastructure and equipment at selected border crossings and
implementing, at pilot sites,
an integrated set of new customs procedures, information technology,
human resource management techniques, supporting infrastructure,
and cooperation mechanisms for agencies at border crossings.
It is hoped that the
Customs
reform and decreases in trade and transport costs will lead to
transparent customs procedures, a more reliable business environment,
and economic growth
as a result of lower prices of imports and more competitive prices/services
for exports. Pilot sites included in the project are active in
Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania.
The progress
report notes that after almost two years of implementation, the
TTFSE program has resulted in very positive achievements, such
as: improved
dialogue among Customs administrations; constant monitoring
of performance through indicators; a public survey published
in 2002; training of SMEs’ staff
through the Trade Facilitation component; and preliminary evaluation
of the economic impact of the program.
Although
assessed as globally satisfactory, some recurrent issues were highlighted
such as:
lack of cooperation in some countries between border crossing
agencies;
excessive turnover of staff in Customs administration; and
insufficient progress in fighting smuggling and corruption.
The full
report is available on the TTFSE website at: www.seerecon.org/TTFSE. Also
available on the site is a very useful TTFSE Manual
and related documents helpful in improving trade facilitation.
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