Serbia doubled funds for Kosovo since declaring independence

Available data shows that funding for Kosovo in 2008 totaled 52.3m euros, while in 2021 it reached 124.2m euros.

However, the means released in Serbia's final budget accounts do not necessarily reflect all the money Serbia has earmarked for Kosovo.

It is difficult to verify those investments that go indirectly from public sources, which are not covered by budgetary funds”, says Free Europe Radio Nemanja Nenadiq, director of programmes in nongovernmental organisation Transparency in Serbia.

REL analyzed the available data in Serbia's final budget accounts from 2008 to 2021. These are the latest available to the public.

The REL also requested complete data from the Treasury Department of Serbia, but this institution said that no such data.

Total tools: 853.2m euros

According to available data, Serbia's budgetary divisions for Kosovo were the same until 2016. From that year, Serbia began to increase the amount.

Through various ministries and for various purposes, it provided 853.2m euros from the budget for its former southern province.

Fifteen years after Kosovo's declaration of independence, Serbia does not recognise it as a state.

Under the European Union's mediation, the two countries have been holding negotiations on normalising relations since 2011.

Serbia's Finance Ministry “does not have” data

Through a request for access to important public information, REL requested information from the Treasury Administration for the total amount of direct and indirect grants for Kosovo from 2008 to 2022.

From this administration they said that “does not have the required” data.

The Treasury Department is an integral part of Serbia's Ministry of Finance.

As it says on its official website, its main tasks include “managing the financial resources of the Republic of Serbia”, controlling budget expenditures and reporting on budget execution.

Most of the money went through the Kosovo Office

Most of the money from Serbia to Kosovo went through its Office for Kosovo.

By 2016, the Ministry for Kosovo existed within the Government of Serbia, but after the 2016 elections, an office was formed instead.

The data shows that 80 percent of Kosovo's total payments, presented in final accounts from 2008 to 2021, went through the Kosovo Office, or the Ministry for Kosovo.

As seen by the final budget accounts, funds were also distributed through special ministries.

Drop circuit tools

After declaring independence, Kosovo divided administrative territory into seven counties.

Serbia, which does not recognise Kosovo's independence, has a parallel administrative structure in Kosovo, which is divided into five counties: Kosovo (including Pristina), Peja, Prizren, Mitrovica Kosovo and Anamorawa.

Over the years, mostly money was split to the Kosovo district, followed by Kosovo's Mitrovica.

The budgetary division of circuits, according to data from the final accounts, is smaller in 2021 than in 2008, except for Prizren County.

In 2019, under funds for the Anamorawa District, the Serbian state paid 2.7 million dinars for fines.

That amount is for a million euros higher than all the means that were divided over that district since Kosovo's declaration of independence.

However, it is not specified what fines are involved.

Tools for the Serbian Orthodox Church and clergymen

Tools for supporting the clergy and monasteries in Kosovo were divided through the Directorate for Co-operation with Churches and Religious Communitys.

According to the data, financial support for the Serbian Orthodox Church was realised through the Ministry, respectively, the Government Office for Kosovo.

Kosovo spending report, “pending” from 2014

The way of spending funds from Serbia's budget in Kosovo was the subject of an investigative commission of Serbia's Parliament formed in May 2013. The investigation was linked to 2000-2012.

After the investigation, this commission adopted a report in April 2014, where misuse of money and unintentional spending have been found in almost all areas of health, education, construction of infrastructure and other facilities.

The procedure called for the report to be presented to MPs in the Assembly, but he never succeeded in getting into the agenda.

The Investigative Commission report has no effect until it is approved by the Parliament's deputies. Only then does it become mandatory for competent institutions.

“I support help, but it be transparent”

Belgrade pensioner Ante Divic says he has been notified of the means for Kosovo through officials' statements.

“I'm somewhat informed, I don't have any direct source of information to say it's true or not”, says Divic for Radio Free Europe.

He adds it is hard to assess how much financial support should be, but says it must be transparent.

“Of course, I support help, but it has to be transparent, so it doesn't go where it shouldn't go”, Diviq says.

Radmila Jovanovic has been living in Belgrade for years, but with his background is from Pristina. Speaking to Radio Free Europe, she says she does not know how much money they divide for Kosovo.

I don't know, but I basically support everything that can be done to help those people, says Jovanovic.

Pedagogia Snezana Stankovic says he supports financial means for Serbs in Kosovo.

Because they're part of us... this is something that's part of Serbia, always”, Stankovic says.

Lost “” or “part of Serbia”?

Public opinion polls show that Serbia's citizens consider Kosovo “lost”, as much as Serbia's “part”.

In a European Affairs Institute poll, from August 2022, 44.2 percent of respondents responded positively to the question: “Do you consider Kosovo to be lost?”, 44.6 percent responded negatively, while 11.2 percent said: “I don't know”.

The same survey showed that half of respondents -- 49.9 percent -- believe that it is not possible for Serbia to once again have sovereignty and control over Kosovo, 35 percent of them believe it is attainable, while 15.1 percent of respondents have responded: “I don't know”.