Tuesday's unprecedented meeting, Kosovo and Serbia with proposals “apart” on the dinar issue

Kosovo and Serbia have concluded a round of talks yesterday, without achieving progress on the issue of the Serbian dinar, whose use was banned on February 1st in Kosovo. Kosovo's chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, said the differences are great and an additional meeting is required, meanwhile, that of Serbia, Petar Petkov, criticised Pristina for not making efforts to reach a compromise solution.

After the meetings, the European bloc warned a new meeting next week on the issue.

Bislimi, after meeting with Petkov under the European Union's mediation, said the sides' proposals on the dinar issue have been discussed.

“U found that there is a huge difference between the proposals of both sides and we agreed that, after some talks, there is also a need for a next meeting, to see whether it is possible to approach a solution or not”, Bislim said.

Bislimin did not want to give details about the proposals, as he argued the negotiation process would be damaged, but said Kosovo's one was “structural”.

I think our side has issued a very constructive proposal that allows financial support to go to the final users, but without being hurt at any moment by the CEC regulation and the legislative framework of our country”, Bislim said.

But, Serbia's chief negotiator, Petar Petkov, said Pristina's proposal does not lead to a compromise solution.

“We have submitted our proposal, Pristina has submitted its proposal. Our proposal is balanced, takes into account the interests of the Serbian people in Kosovo, and has been made in agreement with our experts. On the other hand, you have Pristina's proposal, which I would not like to talk about right now, just to say that the other side did not even make the slightest effort that that that letter could be called a proposal, which goes in the direction of a compromise solution”, Petkovovic said.

This is what really bothers me. I don't know which way the dialogue goes. I am worried about the position and future of the Serbian people in Kosovo when you see that there is no political will on the other hand to achieve a” solution, Petkov added.

The Serbian chief negotiator said Belgrade will continue talks on reaching a solution to the issue as it warned the upcoming meeting for April.

He reiterated that the Serbian side will try to continue functioning the Serbian bank in Kosovo, the Post Savings, so that Serbs can receive salaries, pensions and other aid.

“This is the essence of our proposal”, he said.

Bislimi, meanwhile, said during the media proposal that in Monday's talks, Kosovo proved ready for maximum flexibility, but within the Kosovo Central Bank's regulation and legal framework, “because our focus has been on the citizen we are convinced there is a need and should be able to accept even further the financial support which Serbia's state has paid so far”.

He said a solution to the BEC regulation, which envisions the euro as the currency for payment, is possible and easily accessible, “just because the political will of both sides is needed”.

Initially, earlier in the day, a trilateral meeting was held between Kosovo's chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, and Serbia's Petar Petkov, under the mediation of EU envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak. Later, Lajcak held bilateral meetings with the two delegations.

Lajcak, meanwhile, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that today's meetings were able to clear up “important details”.

Next week's <x0) week we agreed to rejoin the ambition to find a solution”, he wrote.

Today's meetings were the continuation of last week's meeting, when both sides agreed to propose a solution to the dinar issue. At today's meeting, each side's proposals were expected to be discussed.

The use of the dinar for cash payments in Kosovo was banned on 1 February, when the Kosovo Central Bank enacted a new regulation, which defined the euro as the only official currency in the country.

The issue, except that it angered Serbia, sparked differences even between the Government of Kosovo and the international community, as the Serb community in Kosovo has for years received payment in dinars from Serbia's budget.

Western diplomats urged Kosovo to suspend the regulation, to give affected citizens time to adapt to the new practice.

In an interview The REL last week, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, said no proposals for the dinar that are contrary to the BEC regulation will be accepted.

EU spokesman Peter Stano said after the meeting last week he expects at the March 25th meeting to continue discussions on finding a solution to the Serbian dinar issue.

Stano said last week's meeting “was important to sort out the facts and to clarify some” issues.

The “Piles agreed to continue discussions on the issue on Monday on March 25th, in order to discuss concrete proposals and find a short-term solution”, he added.

This was the first time Kosovo government officials participated in such talks since the BEC's regulation entered into force.

At last week's meeting, the agreement on normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia was also discussed.

But Stano warned after that meeting that a high-level meeting between Kosovo and Serbia leaders is needed to discuss implementing this agreement.

The implementation of the agreement on the road to normalisation, as well as additional demands for formalism, need to be addressed by leaders during the next summit at a high level, within the” dialogue, Stano said last week.

Kosovo and Serbia reached the Base Agreement in Brussels in February 2023, meanwhile on March 18th in Ohrid, agreed to the Anex for implementation of this agreement.

The EU warned earlier this week that it will increase pressure on both countries for implementation of this agreement.

The agreement, among other things, requires good neighbourly relations, mutual recognition of documents and state symbols, as well as mutual respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also requires that the parties not hinder each other from integration processes, but does not require mutual recognition.