“Sʹka dinars” in Serb majority municipalities

The majority Serb environments in Kosovo are being left without dinars.

So at least some citizens in the south and north of the Iber River, who tried to withdraw money from their accounts on Tuesday.

Institutions, both in Kosovo and Serbia, are silent.

Mira from Gracanica é majority Serb municipality near Pristina é failed to receive social assistance and additions for children because employees in the mail told him there is no money.

This post office works under Serbia's system and can withdraw revenues into dinars, which are separated from Serbia's budget.

I didn't get anything. I've come to get [the income], but they haven't given it to me. What am I going to do now?

Social assistance from the Serbian system totals about 11,000 dinars, or 100 euros, for a family member.

Mira says she receives no financial compensation from Kosovo's budget and hopes that the dinar use issue in Kosovo will be resolved soon.

The lack of dinars in Gracanica occurs after Kosovo authorities, on February 13th, banned their entry for the second time, arguing that Kosovo Central Bank (BQK) decides on this issue.

Otherwise, on February 1st the BQC regulation went into effect, which stipulates that the euro is the only currency for cash payments in Kosovo and for payment transactions.

The Serbian dinar, which has so far circulated in the majority Serb environments in Kosovo, has been banned by this regulation because Serbian citizens, in this currency, have accepted various payments from Serbia's budget -- salaries, pensions, social assistance, additions to children and others.

BQC's currency regulation

The new regulation of the Kosovo Central Bank (BQK), which was released on January 17th and entered into force on February 1st, makes the euro the only payment money in Kosovo.

It prompted reactions from the Serbian community that accept payment in dinars from Serbia since the post-war in 1999.

Part of the international community asked the Kosovo government to withdraw this decision, while another part asked to postpone it until citizens were better informed.

The CEC said the transition phase of its regulation implementation cannot last more than three months.

Post workers in northern Mitrovica also tell their clients that they do not have money for payments, confirms to Radio Free Europe Radmila, another beneficiary of social assistance from Serbia's system.

However, it managed to withdraw the money from Serbia's Post Savings, which also operates under the Serbian system and, currently, is the only bank in Kosovo that operates with dinars.

I need the money for insulin, for medicine. I go to the post office and there's no money [for the social assistance I get]. But here [at the Post Course] I managed to withdraw the money, fortunately,”, Radmila says.

Limited Euro payments?

In the North Mitrovica Post Savings, Gorica only received additions for children worth about 10,000 dinars, or 90 euros.

I was told to come by tomorrow morning to get social assistance”, Gorica says.

She fears that, in the future, she will have to go to the District of Serbia to get the benefits she deserves.

Post Savings, Mail Team REL met Alexander, who had gone to get his salary on Tuesday.

According to him, Post Savings employees inform their clients that they can attract 10,000 dinars, or 100 euros, during the day.

“We will see how it will be”, he says.

REL asked the Post Savings if the payments in Kosovo are made in euros, and whether the payments are limited to a certain amount of money, but received no response.

Earlier, Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, said health and education workers receive their salaries in two parts, on 6 and 21th of the month respectively.

In addition to educational and health institutions, other institutions of Serbia, whose workers are also paid by dinars, operate in the majority Serb environments in Kosovo.

One of them is Dragana from Gracanica, which, as it says, will go to Serbia to get her salary.

“When I need it, I go there [to Serbia]. I can't get it back here because I get my salary through the Post Course and there's no dinars. At the time I go to Kraleva, sometimes to the border... at Jarinje is the Post Saving”, Dragana tells Radio Free Europe.

No solution on the horizon

REL asked Serbia's Post, the Post Savings and the People's Bank of Serbia how the problem of lack of dinars in Kosovo will be resolved, but received no answers.

Neither did the Kosovo government answer the REL question if the so-called transition period envisions paying financial benefits from Serbia's budget to dinars.

Official Pristina insists on direct communication with Serbia's responsible institutions to find a solution to the payment of monetary benefits from Serbia's budget, but official Belgrade refuses and requires that the issue be raised within the framework of dialogue for normalising relations between the two countries, which the European Union is mediating.

On February 18th, Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, told TV Prva in Belgrade that I do not know what the solution to the use of dinars in Kosovo is, nor how monetary compensation will be paid.

When I know, I will inform the opinion”, he said.

Earlier, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti told Bloomberg that the CEC decision cannot be annulled. He reiterated that the regulation does not prohibit payments from Serbia's budget, but that they should be made in euros.

The Kosovo Central Bank announced on 12 February that the transition phase for the implementation of its regulation cannot last more than three months.

For years, the People's Bank of Serbia sent dinars to its safe deposit in the municipality of Leposaviqi, the northern part of Kosovo. From there, the international company, Henderson, transported them through financial institutions operating under the Serbian system, such as Serbia's Posta or Post Savings.

But, the CEC now says this practice is illegal, because only it can export and import coins and bank notes to Kosovo territory.

dinar issue arrives at Kosovo Constitutional Court

Meanwhile, a team of Serbian lawyers submitted a request to Kosovo's Constitutional Court for assessing the constitutionality of the Kosovo Central Bank regulation, due to, as said, “the damage effect caused to citizens”.

Lawyers also demanded suspension of regulations.

One of them told the local Serb-language portal, Kossev, that the BEC regulation violates basic human rights -- for property, labour, profession, health and social protection respectively.

The group of lawyers said that implementing the regulation is discriminated against, because it affects, first of all, the Serb community in Kosovo and there have been no preliminary consultations with the affected community.

Even the international community expressed concern that the Kosovo Central Bank regulation could have a negative impact on Kosovo Serbs and increase ethnic tensions.

As a result, Kosovo authorities were asked to postpone its implementation.

US Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier said on February 15th that the decision to ban the Serbian dinar has affected the quality of relations between the United States and the Government of Kosovo.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia James O'Brien said on February 13th that the Government of Kosovo questioned its partnership with the US due to the decision to ban the Serbian dinar. / REL