The Kosovo Chamber of Commerce (OEK) has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court against the defendant, the Energy Regulatory Office (ZRRE).

According to OEK, this lawsuit was filed with the aim of protecting businesses, Kosovo’s economy, and most importantly, protecting the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo as end consumers, against what it considers an unjust decision by ZRRE.

The President of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, Lulzim Rafuna, emphasizes that the chamber trusts that justice will be served in favor of businesses, the country’s economy, and by taking into account the public interest of the state of Kosovo.

Rafuna told KosovaPress that they will use all available means as a chamber to protect the interests of businesses in Kosovo.

“The first steps are legal steps. It is known that we will use all mechanisms, as it is our mission as the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, established by law. Today, we will address the Supreme Court with a lawsuit to annul all acts of the Energy Regulatory Office, referring to administrative acts. In the Commercial Court, we did not have the legal right to act on behalf of businesses with a lawsuit or complaint, but we found a legal space in the Supreme Court where we can act on behalf of members and non-member businesses,” declared Rafuna.

He also mentioned that currently, 90 percent of businesses listed by KEDS and KESCO for electricity disconnection have already had their contracts terminated and are left without electricity.

“According to data we have from KEDS and KESCO, 450 [businesses] have been disconnected so far. According to their notification, this represents ninety percent of those on the disconnection list,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile, businessman Ramiz Kelmendi stated that due to electricity disconnections, expenses will increase, which, according to him, will lead to staff reductions and higher product prices.

He also noted that due to the free market or high electricity prices, the total expenses of his business will increase by 20 percent.

Regarding the Chamber’s lawsuit, Kelmendi said that such situations progress very slowly legally and emphasized that it is more important for the Chamber to meet with state leaders to take faster action.

“The Chamber should know that there are some activities that cannot be postponed physically but must be addressed legally and professionally. The situation must be resolved through the court, dialogue with institutions, presenting ourselves to institutions, group meetings, visiting their offices, waiting at their offices, highlighting the existing report on institutions and businesses, which treats businesses as if they are harmful, like oligarchs. Representatives of the chambers must go there and publicly wait for a meeting with the Prime Minister, the President, and institutions directly,” he stated.

On the other hand, although damages are being caused by this decision, Kelmendi expressed that businesses have no competence to take any action to improve the situation.

“Businesses cannot take any action when something is legal. When they come with police to disconnect electricity, you cannot act when they have the police supporting the enforcement of the law. We are under the law and respect it; we are obliged to respect it, and we do so willingly, but no one prevents us from opposing in any democratic form. One of these democratic forms is for the leaders of the economic chambers to go to the President, the Prime Minister, and not leave until our requests are accepted. They are our representatives. Meetings should not be held with ZRRE, as ZRRE is an executive institution—they have simply enforced the law,” he emphasized.

Additionally, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) announced that this week it will take the ZRRE decision to the Constitutional Court. This decision forces around 1,400 businesses to enter the so-called “free energy market.”

The Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a statement, said the process involved numerous legal and procedural violations and appealed to the Government of Kosovo and ZRRE to immediately suspend the implementation of the decision and initiate a transparent review process.