Kosovo partially accepts US proposal on Serbian dinar restriction

Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani has announced that her country has accepted part of a US proposal on the use of the Serbian dinar in the country.

On Feb. 1, Kosovo adopted the euro for cash payment transactions despite concerns expressed by ethnic Serbs living in the country's north.

Osmani told the media on Monday during a visit to the municipality of Lipljan that there is agreement on part of the proposal that was presented by the US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, when he was in Kosovo last week.

However, there is no agreement on the second part, she said.

"It is very positive that the international community, led by the US, agrees that there will no longer be dinars in circulation in Kosovo, and with their help, we have achieved that, from now on all remittances and financial aid coming from Serbia will be in euros and not in dinars,'' said Osmani.

She added that the dinar issue should be resolved as soon as possible because it creates a big problem for Kosovo.

According to Osmani, Kosovo is considering ways to guarantee that aid sent from Serbia to the Serbian community in Kosovo does not fall into the wrong hands.

Law enforcement

"Now the second part, for which there is still no agreement, but I am hopeful that we will reach that point very soon, is how we should make sure that any financial aid that comes from Serbia does not go into the hands of people who have abused, that they were corrupt and took the money maybe on behalf of the citizens, but they used it for corruption and organised crime, and for that part, a plan is still being drawn up that will involve the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, including law enforcement ones,” said Osmani.

The country’s central bank announced the decision on Jan. 18, saying currencies other than the euro can only be used in Kosovo for physical safekeeping or bank accounts.

The decision triggered outrage because ethnic Serb communities in Kosovo had been using the dinar, the official currency of neighbouring Serbia, at both state and commercial institutions. Many local Serbs have an attachment or even allegiance to Serbia.

The parties on Tuesday will meet in Brussels as part of the dialogue process between Belgrade and Pristina.

Escobar meanwhile expressed hope that the Kosovo government would be flexible at the meeting in Brussels.

He said the US has problems communicating with Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

He noted that this problem is not only faced by the US but also by other partners such as the European Union, NATO, the UK, Albania and North Macedonia.

Western countries including the US, France, Italy, Germany and the UK have urged Kosovo to halt the implementation of the currency regulation.