On the evening of Wednesday 15 May, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS), Peter Stano, regretted the failure of negotiations between the Serbian and Kosovar parties over Pristina’s decision to ban transactions in Serbian dinars in Kosovo, due to a lack of political will to reach a compromise (see EUROPE 13385/6).
During the seven negotiating sessions, the parties did manage to reconcile their positions on financial flows by agreeing on “the establishment of a new business entity under Kosovo law tasked to temporarily distribute financial assistance from Serbia”, said the EEAS spokesperson in a press release. However, added Mr Stano, they were unable to approve a compromise proposal submitted by the European Union on key elements such as “the overall extent of activities of the new entity, the scope of beneficiaries of this entity, and financial assistance from Serbia to Serbia-supported institutions in Kosovo”.
According to the EEAS, the failure of negotiations will have negative consequences on the daily lives of Kosovo Serbs.
Since February, the euro has been the only official currency authorised in areas of Kosovo where the population is predominantly Serbian. This decision forces some of Kosovo’s Serbs to cross the border to receive their salaries or assistance paid in dinars by the Serbian state, which spends around €120 million of its budget on Kosovo every year, according to AFP. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)