By AFP – Agence France Presse
May 15, 2024
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Neither Serbia nor Kosovo are ready to end a dispute over the banning of the Serbian dinar by its rival Balkan neighbour, the European Union said Wednesday after a seventh unsuccessful meeting between the two.
“The latest meeting today proved that the parties were not able to find a compromise solution on the remaining open issues,” the EU’s diplomatic service said. “The EU assesses that there is no readiness to find a compromise agreement going forward.”
Kosovo in February banned transactions in Serbian dinars, which had been tolerated in areas of Kosovo populated by Serbs, and has imposed the euro as the sole legal currency.
The decision makes it difficult for many ethnic Serbs in Kosovo to receive salaries or aid from the Serbian state.
Thousands of residents, students, employees and retirees benefit from the payments, and they must now cross the border to collect them.
Belgrade spends about 120 million euros ($130 million) a year to finance a system of “parallel” institutions in Kosovo for the Serbian minority, providing public services but also ensuring the loyalty of Kosovo Serbs to Serbia.
“During these meetings, the parties extensively presented their positions and explored possibilities for finding common ground,” the EU said about the seven rounds of negotiations so far.
“The EU provided ideas and proposals throughout the process, and the parties managed to bridge some of their differences in order to ensure financial flows from Serbia to Kosovo, including agreeing on the establishment of a new business entity under Kosovo law tasked to temporarily distribute financial assistance from Serbia.”
But they could not agree on what powers the new entity would have, how many people it would support, and the extent of Serbian financial support.
Each side blamed the other for the failed talks, and no new meetings are scheduled.
“Even though we made new proposals, showed that we want an agreement, Pristina refused everything,” said Petar Petkovic, director of the Serbian government’s Kosovo office.
The Serbs did not provide “answers”, replied Pristina’s chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi.
Miroslav Lajcak, the EU’s special representative, wrote on X, the former Twitter, that “I’m ready to host the parties again if they show readiness to reach a mutually agreeable temporary solution.”
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