The European Union has confirmed the participation of delegations from Kosovo and Serbia in a meeting in Brussels on February 27 regarding the issue of the ban on the dinar in Kosovo.
Officials from Kosovo confirmed to Radio Free Europe (RFE) that the invitation from the EU was positively responded to by the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK), without providing names of who will be part of the delegation. However, RFE learned that Kosovo will be represented at the meeting by the governor of the CBK, Ahmet Ismaili. Meanwhile, according to the Serbian media, Tanjug, at the February 27 meeting, Serbia will be represented by the chief Serbian negotiator in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Petar Petković.
The CBK has stated that it has previously expressed readiness to meet with representatives of the National Bank of Serbia to facilitate the transfer of funds through banking channels after the enforcement of its regulation on February 1, which stipulates that only the euro will be the currency for cash payments.
“In this regard, [the CBK] also responds to invitations when necessary, for such informative meetings, as it has continuously done with international presence in the country,” said the CBK’s response sent to RFE.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the European Commission for Foreign Policy Issues, Nabila Massrali, did not specify who will participate but said the meeting will be “in the usual format of the dialogue” and will discuss “finding solutions”.
Last week, Kosovo’s chief negotiator in the dialogue, Besnik Bislimi, stated that he would not participate in the meeting, accusing the EU envoy for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák, of violating the principle of setting the meeting agenda without the consent of the parties.
“What I can say is that yes, we will have a meeting tomorrow. Tomorrow’s meeting is a dialogue meeting, which will focus on finding solutions to open issues related to the recent decisions regarding the circulation of currencies by the CBK,” Massrali said.
According to the EU, the meeting will start in the morning and will follow the same flow as meetings in the usual dialogue format.
“And yes, both parties have confirmed their participation,” the spokesperson said, adding that details of the meeting will be provided later.
The European Union is seeking the resolution of the issue of the ban on the Serbian dinar through dialogue.
Meanwhile, the United States is urging Kosovo to postpone the implementation of this decision, arguing that it was taken without prior consultation and without considering the negative impacts on the Serbian population in Kosovo.
Authorities in Kosovo have said that the regulation will be implemented through a facilitated transition, not longer than three months, while Prime Minister Albin Kurti has insisted that the decision will not be revoked.
The Serbian state allocates millions of euros for Serbs in Kosovo, as it pays them in dinars – through a parallel system – wages, pensions, and additional assistance.
