The government of Kosovo has mandated that all cafes, bars, and restaurants must provide customers with drinking water free of charge.
The new measures were presented by the Minister of Health Rifat Latifi who also presented normative standards for the quality of tap water.
“In order to establish normative standards for the quality of water intended for human consumption…. I propose the approval of the decision that: in cases where gastronomy facilities are supplied by the public water supply, the business owner cannot prevent customers from being served with tap water”, said Latifi.
In the UK and a handful of European countries, establishments provide tap water for free upon request. In the former, it is a legal requirement for any establishment that serves alcohol.
In Kosovo, tap water is considered safe for drinking and can therefore be served with no issue, but this is not the case in neighbouring Albania. Tap water in Albania is not fit for human consumption, even after being boiled. This is due to a combination of poor water infrastructure and issues with old, poorly maintained piping networks.
Both countries do not provide running water around the clock. In Kosovo, some municipalities suffer from both regular and sporadic shortages, including the capital of Pristina.
In Albania, most citizens only get water three times a day for a couple of hours each time while some get even less. The water typically comes at around 6-7am, 12-2pm, and 6-8pm. Many residents use water storage tanks that remain on the roof of apartments despite a law being passed following the deadlly 2019 earthquake, to remove them.
Promises of 24-7 water of high quality have been political promises for years in both countries, yet issues still remain even in 2022.
