3 minutes agoEuropean Commission Increases Pressure on Kosovo Due to dinar
Periskopi(2 years ago)
(2 years ago)The European Commission has joined voices critical of Kosovo, following the 1 February entry into force of a Kosovo Central Bank regulation. This regulation envisions the use of the euro for cash payments, halting the use of the Serbian dinar, used by Serbs living in Kosovo. Key EC spokesman Eric [...]
The European Commission has joined voices critical of Kosovo, following the 1 February entry into force of a Kosovo Central Bank regulation. This regulation envisions the use of the euro for cash payments, halting the use of the Serbian dinar, used by Serbs living in Kosovo.
The EC's leading spokesman, Eric Mamer, during a media conference in Brussels on February 2nd, said the institution expressed regret over the decision and joined the calls of other international factors to ensure a sufficient period of time for resolving this issue through dialogue on normalisation of reports between Kosovo and Serbia, which is mediated by the European Union.
The Commission laments the fact that this decision has been adopted without preliminary consultations, considering the consequences this decision may have on the daily lives of Serbs in Kosovo and other communities in Kosovo. The commission is privately concerned about the impact on schools and hospitals, considering there are no other options”, Mamer said.
Mamer said the EC supports the declaration issued the day before even by EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borrell.
Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi said on Wednesday that implementation of the cash-paying regulation would be made through a relaxed transition, not showing how long this will last.
The Commission is aware of the CEC's decision to allow a transition phase. The EC urges Kosovo to ensure that this transitional term is long enough to find a negotiated solution within the EU-brokered dialogue”, Mamer said.
In questions about why the EC and the EU are criticising a state that uses the euro and the decision of an independent institution, such as the CEC, spokesman Mamer said the decision is being criticised in this case.
Our statement should not be misinterpreted. We have not criticised Kosovo for establishing the euro or deciding which currency should be used. We have only commented that this decision was adopted without preliminary consultations. Because right now you have people, institutions, including hospitals that operate in a framework, receiving financial assistance from Serbia, and they should have enough time to prepare”, he said.
He said this issue had to be addressed in the dialogue for normalisation, “before the decision was issued so that a practical solution could be found, for people and institutions to adjust”.
Even EU spokesman for security issues Peter Stano said the bloc is not criticising the decision, but the way it was taken.
The “has absolutely nothing to do with the euro, but with the way this decision has been adopted and the risk it brings”, Stano said.
The implementation of the CEC's regulation for cash operations has also been criticised by the United States.
“I can certainly say that we now oppose it”, the US ambassador to Pristina, Jeff Havenier, declared on February 1st.
Since the 1999 post-war Serbia, which does not recognise Kosovo's independence, has been using the dinar to pay pensions, social aid and salaries for the parallel institutions in Kosovo, including hospitals and schools.
Residents of ten majority Serb municipalities in Kosovo have also used the dinar for fees in shops and restaurants.
The Kosovo government has declared that the BEC regulation does not mean it will stop transfers of money from Serbia and does not also imply financial penalties for the possession of currency of other states./ REL
