Victimized Besnik Bislim: The north stream was paid as a result of other governments

The bilateral meetings in Brussels during the week we left behind have lasted three full days, with many topics being discussed -- one of which is the payment of electricity for northern Serbs, made almost every year by the Government of Kosovo.

Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, who is leading the negotiating team to the expert level, has told Telegrafi that they are on a good track to put this issue on track.

He said they have submitted a proposal of concrete measures that the EU must take to regulate the issue.

I think we're on a good track to put energy consumption in the north on the tracks of our entire system. We agreed with the EU to hand them a concrete plan with the steps we have to take in the next three months, we have done this since tomorrow. The talks were 16 (November 16th), we submitted to Mr. Lajcak a proposal of concrete measures that we also imply actions that the European Union itself must take to accommodate the 13th point meaning EU obligations and I think this proposal has been extremely well received by its” office, Bislim said.

Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi said they are the victims of mistakes that were made in the past, where, according to him, the first mistake was made when it was agreed that the power issue in northern Kosovo would be addressed as political issues.

“We are the victim of some initial mistakes that were made in the past. The first mistake has been made to address the cost of energy in the north as political issues. There is nowhere in the world where the payment of a public service is handled by political dimension, is simply transaction, where the citizen receives a service and pays the same cost. But here the Serbian side has been successful because it has imposed a simple topic on the negotiating table where citizens' contract with the town of”, Bislim said.

He said it will now deal with the downing and licensing of another operator, taking care and not touching the distribution and transmission of energy.

As if that wasn't enough, they've drafted an agreement that has huge confusion in it and confusion that creates the impression that people involved haven't known how it works. We're left to deal with the minimize damage, within the framework of finding solutions. This solution concerns the licensing of another operator providing electricity, making sure that unity is not affected at any point in transmission, nor in the distribution of energy”, Bislimi said, adding that citizens and businesses should not be discriminated against.