Vucic: We will find private banks that will receive licenses to send money to our people

2024-02-02 14:20:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Vucic: We will find private banks that will receive licenses to send money to

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vu?i?, has said that the decision of the Kosovo authorities to cancel the Serbian dinar is an attack on all agreements signed since 1999, and that Serbia will find institutions that will receive licenses to enable the sending of money for Serbs in Kosovo.

"In each of those acts, it is Serbia's right to finance certain activities, health, education, pensions," Vucic said on Friday at a press conference.

"Unfortunately, Albin Kurti took that decision on his own initiative, with the following goal: ethnic cleansing of the Serbian people from the territory of Kosovo and Metohija," said Vucic, referring to the Prime Minister of Kosovo.

On February 1, the new regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) entered into force in Kosovo, which stipulates that the euro is the only currency with which cash payments can be made.

The decision has entered into force, despite calls from the international community for the postponement of the implementation deadline.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, has pledged that an easy transition will be ensured. In the Serbian-majority municipalities in Kosovo, the Serbian dinar has been circulating since the post-war period.

The Serbian state pays Kosovo Serbs - through a parallel system - salaries, pensions, social assistance, and other benefits.

The Law on Local Government Finances in Kosovo allows the sending of financial aid from Serbia.

This country has allocated 139 million euros for the Serbs in Kosovo for 2024 - about 11 million more than in 2023.

At the press conference, Vucic said that he will do everything for the Serbs in Kosovo to get their income again.

The Serbian president has said that until noon on Friday, more than 5 million euros have been allocated to the Serbs in Kosovo for various benefits.

He announced that Serbia will seek a solution on how to send the money to the Serbs in Kosovo.

When he spoke about the funds shared by Serbia, Vu?i? showed that his country has 31,831 employees in Kosovo, 29,115 pensioners - of which 4,700 receive their pensions in hand - and 31,586 beneficiaries of social assistance. Vucic has warned that on Monday next week, Serbia will continue to send dinars to Kosovo through a "licensed and authorized carrier, the British company Henderson, in accordance with the laws".

The People's Bank of Serbia has for years sent the dinars to a safe in the municipality of Leposavi?, in the north of Kosovo, and they were then transported by the international company Henderson.

Some have blamed the Kosovo Customs for allowing such a practice, since the CBK is the only institution authorized to import and export euros and other currencies in Kosovo.

"The People's Bank of Serbia will not talk with the CBK"

The Kosovo authorities have said that they hope to reach an agreement between the CBK and the People's Bank of Serbia to reach an agreement on payments to Serbs in Kosovo.

However, Vucic rejected this possibility.

"We will find a solution. If necessary, we will find private banks that will get licenses anyway, we will find solutions to distribute money to our people".

According to him, the People's Bank of Serbia will adhere to the law and that Serbia will provide information on the final decision on this matter, but "the priority will be the transportation and sending of money to Kosovo." Among other things, Vucic has warned that Serbia will request an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council on Monday, February 5.

Why was the regulation adopted now?

The head of CBK, Ahmet Ismaili, mentioned financial integrity as the main reason for implementing the regulation a few days ago.

According to him, the decision protects Kosovo "from counterfeit money, from the financing of terrorism, from the use of currencies that are not original".

Others mention fiscal evasion, in the absence of control over the dinar.

What should the Serbs do now?

Serbian citizens in Kosovo will have to open accounts in commercial banks that are licensed by the CBK.

The Serbian state can send them the money in dinars, but they must be converted to euros along the way./ Rel