The decision to merge the concessions wasn’t rejected yesterday, but instead, a decision was made which invalidates the previous decision on the merging of concessions, the Minister of Economy Kreshnik Bekteshi explained at Wednesday’s press conference.

“In fact, we didn’t take away any of the concessionaire’s rights, nor have we taken away their concession, nor refused their request, we only took a step backward. I said that yesterday, and a month ago. I respect all government decisions, it is my duty, but it is also my responsibility, as a representative of the Ministry of Economy to point to possible consequences of adopting or not adopting decisions, said Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi at a press conference Wednesday on the Ilovica-Shtuka mines”, he said.

On June 27, 2023, the Government voted to merge the two concessions.

The Minister reiterated that the institutions should not be silent, but should adopt concrete acts so as not to leave room for the concessionaire to refer to a lack of decisions.

“Our expectation”, said Bekteshi, “is that this decision will be disputed by the concessionaire, as is their right”.

In answer to journalists’ questions, the Minister said that any potential new investors would have to fulfill the conditions from the new Law on Mineral Resources, which bans the use of cyanide in mining.