The EU again demands that the dinar issue be resolved through dialogue

2024-02-23 15:53:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The European Union has reiterated that it wants to help Kosovo and Serbia to find a solution to the issue of the use of the Serbian dinar in Kosovo, after the entry into force of the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, which foresees the euro as the sole currency for payments with cash in the state.

EU foreign affairs and security spokesman Peter Stano, however, declined to give details during a press conference on February 23 about a meeting called for next week in Brussels on the issue.

"We need to return to the current practice of not talking in public and press conferences about the logistics of preparations for meetings at the level of working groups", said Stano.

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, declared on Friday that the dinar issue "can be resolved here in Kosovo", adding that this topic should not have caused "clashes with the allies".

Meanwhile, the chief negotiator of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, confirmed earlier in the week that his office has accepted an invitation from the EU for a meeting on the issue of the dinar. He said that he will not participate in this meeting, stressing that he does not know who can participate in it from Kosovo.

"We sent the letter to the parties and explained in detail how we expect them to deal with certain issues. We hope that both sides will find a solution to an issue that was created by a decision without deadline and without consultation of one side, which had an impact on the other side," said Stano.

"We are not commentators, but facilitators and we try to help the parties to find solutions", he added. Responding to the question of what the consequences could be for Kosovo if it does not participate in the meeting in Brussels, which was called by the European special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, Stano said that "we cannot speculate that what will happen, if it will happen", adding that the invitations to the parties have been sent and the EU is only trying to find a solution.

Earlier it was confirmed that Lajcak sent an invitation to Kosovo and Serbia to participate in a meeting in Brussels on February 27 to discuss the issue of the dinar.

Bislimi, during a statement to the media, said that this invitation of Lajçak constituted a violation of principles on his part because, according to previous practices, no topic can be placed on the agenda of a meeting, without the prior agreement of both parties.

Kosovo thinks that the dinar issue is not a topic that should be discussed in the dialogue, but the banking authorities in Serbia have requested that the solution to this issue be found within the Brussels dialogue.

On February 1, the CBK regulations for cash operations began to be implemented in Kosovo.

The CBK regulation has also been criticized by the international community, which has said that the decision was taken without prior consultation and without considering the impact on the Serbian community. The United States has requested that Kosovo postpone the implementation of the decision, arguing that the non-fulfillment of this request has already affected the quality of relations between Washington and Pristina.

The CBK has said that the decision will be implemented through a transitional phase of no longer than three months./ Rel