The United States envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, has called the decision of Kosovo authorities to implement the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo that designates the euro as the currency for cash transactions \u201ccatastrophic\u201d and \u201cincompetent\u201d.<\/p>\n
This decision has prevented the use of the Serbian dinar in Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo.<\/p>\n
He made these statements in Brussels during an open discussion with journalists.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe urge the government of Kosovo to consider the concerns of the Serbian community and international mechanisms for the treatment of minorities within Kosovo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recalled that France took nearly a year to adopt the euro, while \u201cin northern Kosovo, they wanted to implement the decision within 3 weeks\u201d.<\/p>\n
Escobar reiterated that the United States does not oppose the legitimacy of the decision, but has issues with the way it is implemented and its effect on the Serbian community.<\/p>\n
From March 10 to March 18, Escobar will hold a series of meetings in Belgium, Kosovo, Austria, and Montenegro.<\/p>\n
Escobar is expected to start the meetings in Pristina on March 13.<\/p>\n
He said that during the visit to Pristina, there will be a focus on a \u201cpossible solution to the coordinated decision to stop the dinar as well as transfers from Serbia to the citizens of Kosovo, who depend on them\u201d.<\/p>\n
Serbia declares that it allocates millions of euros to Serbs in Kosovo and pays them salaries, pensions, and additional assistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunication problems\u201d with Kurti<\/strong><\/p>\n Escobar admitted that there is a rift in diplomatic communications between the US and Kosovo.<\/p>\n \u201cThe partnership between the United States and Kosovo, between the American people and the people of Kosovo, does not go through one person in Kosovo or one party. However, I must say that currently we have communication problems with Prime Minister [of Kosovo, Albin Kurti]. And it\u2019s not just the US; Kosovo also has a problem with the EU, NATO, the United Kingdom, and more partners, including Albania and North Macedonia.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that communication with Kosovo has been very good in the past and hopes the same will be true in the future.<\/p>\n Asked why he is not visiting North Macedonia, he said that the situation in Kosovo is \u201cterrible, so I need to visit Kosovo\u201d.<\/p>\n Dialogue is at a \u201ccritical moment\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Escobar considered the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia \u2013 initiated since 2011, with EU mediation \u2013 to be at a \u201ccritical moment\u201d.<\/p>\n He acknowledged that Washington has issues with the direction of the Brussels agreements and the Ohrid agreement \u201con the right track\u201d, and that from the American perspective, \u201cthere is no alternative to dialogue\u201d.<\/p>\n He specifically mentioned that Kosovo is required to work towards the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, while Serbia is required to ensure that its commitments are legally binding and irreversible.<\/p>\n Asked about the possible consequences for Kosovo and Serbia for non-implementation of the Ohrid Agreement, Escobar mentioned a slowdown in the European integration process.<\/p>\n In February 2023, Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement aimed at normalizing relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n In March of that year, agreement was also reached in Ohrid on the implementation annex of the basic agreement.<\/p>\n Solving problems in the Balkans prevents Russia\u2019s malicious interference<\/strong><\/p>\n During the discussion, Escobar also spoke about US assistance to Kosovo in Euro-Atlantic processes.<\/p>\n According to the American diplomat, \u201cit is impossible to convince non-recognizing countries to move forward with integrations if Kosovo ignores dialogue and European partners\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I am very concerned that Kosovo is not listening to the US offer of partnership to advance Kosovo’s integration further and faster.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether US policies toward Kosovo and Serbia have changed since Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine began \u2013 in February 2022 \u2013 Escobar said that nothing of the sort has happened.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the urgency to address challenges to European stability within the European continent has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n In this regard, Escobar assessed that it is very urgent \u201cto start addressing some open issues in the Western Balkans\u201d.<\/p>\n According to him, what is happening in the Balkan region \u2013 although it opens the door to Russia\u2019s malicious influence \u2013 is not always caused by Moscow, mentioning that the problems are very deep-rooted and have been going on for a long time.<\/p>\n \u201cBy solving these issues, we have hoped to close off any opportunity for Russia to exploit instability in the Balkans as a means to weaken transatlantic security.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The United States envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, has called the decision of Kosovo authorities to implement the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo that designates the euro as the currency for cash transactions \u201ccatastrophic\u201d and \u201cincompetent\u201d. This decision has prevented the use of the Serbian dinar in Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":62294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[5351,429,300,1929,150,243,151,383,301,5926,490],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n