The United States has called on the Government of Kosovo to reconsider the decision of the financial authorities regarding the use of the Serbian dinar in Kosovo.

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, stated on Wednesday that the Constitution should be fully implemented.

A few days ago, the Central Bank of Kosovo approved a regulation for cash transactions, stipulating the euro as the sole currency for transactions.

“The only allowed currency for cash payments and in the payment system in the Republic of Kosovo is the euro, as the only currency in the sense of Article 11 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo”.

According to Article 11 of the Constitution, “in the Republic of Kosovo, only one currency is used as a valid means of payment”.

This regulation is expected to come into effect on February 1.

Radio Free Europe has contacted the governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo, Ahmet Ismaili, regarding the U.S. request but has not received any response.

Bislimi’s statement

In a press conference with the Minister for European Affairs of the Czech Republic, Martin Dvorak, Bislimi insisted on the full implementation of the Constitution in all cases.

“When it comes to Article 11 of the Constitution, which says there is only one currency in circulation in Kosovo, our friends tell us ‘don’t implement this’. The Constitution is either sacred and must be implemented, or then we do cherry-picking. If we have to do cherry-picking, we do it. If it has to be implemented, then insist that it be applied in all cases,” he said.

In Kosovo, in all Serbian-majority settlements, the population uses the Serbian dinar for payments, and those working in Serbian institutions in Kosovo receive their salaries in dinars.

Pensions are also paid in dinars according to the Serbian system, as well as allowances for children and social benefits.

In commercial establishments in areas where Serbs live in Kosovo, besides euros, the dinar is also used.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Pristina told Radio Free Europe that the Government of Kosovo should consult with the communities affected by this decision, address the concerns expressed by the international community, and offer time for the implementation of the decision to mitigate its impact on the residents affected.

“We are concerned that the regulation approved on December 27 will have a negative impact on the Serbian community in Kosovo. According to the laws of Kosovo, as well as based on the commitments Kosovo has made with the Ahtisaari Plan, Serbia has the right to send financial aid to members of the Serbian community in Kosovo”.

The Ahtisaari Plan is the document on which the independence of Kosovo was declared, and the Constitution and laws of Kosovo were drafted.

The dinars came to Kosovo from Serbia through the National Bank of Serbia, which has a vault in Leposavic, a municipality in northern Kosovo inhabited mostly by Serbs. The money there was transported by the money transport company “Henderson”.

The regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo states that the import and export of banknotes and metal coins in euros and other currencies in Kosovo are its executive right.

Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, said that each citizen of the Republic of Kosovo who acted contrary to the decision of the Central Bank “has been consistently on the side of the law violator”.

The U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, called the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo an “unpleasant surprise”.

The Serb List, the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo with the official support of Belgrade, stated that this decision by the “Albin Kurti regime” is a “decision for the expulsion of Serbs from these areas without the use of weapons”.

Among other reactions, the U.S. Embassy recalled why Kosovo should form the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities in Kosovo.

“The Association is the primary mechanism through which Serbia could provide financial assistance to institutions and individuals under the legal framework of Kosovo”.

According to the Embassy, “institutions that provide key services – such as education and health – should be able to continue functioning”.

Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement on the Association in 2013 and later in 2015 on the principles for its establishment.

However, in 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that the agreement is not in complete harmony with the Constitution.

Serbia insists that Kosovo implement the agreements reached, but the Government of Kosovo has declared opposition to a mono-ethnic association.

The Association should offer a certain level of self-governance for Serbs in Kosovo.

In a draft statute prepared by the West for the formation of the Association – which Radio Free Europe has seen – financial support from Serbia to the Serbian community in Kosovo through the Central Bank of Kosovo is envisaged.