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The United States has called on the Government of Kosovo to review its decision by financial authorities regarding cash transactions, which also mention the Serbian dinar.
Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, stated on Wednesday that the Constitution must be fully implemented.
Earlier, the Central Bank of Kosovo approved a regulation for cash transactions, foreseeing the euro as the sole currency for transactions, effective from February 1.
Radio Free Europe contacted the governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo, Ahmet Ismaili, regarding the US request, but no response has been received.
Bislimi's Statement
During a press conference with the Minister for European Affairs of the Czech Republic, Martin Dvorak, Bislimi emphasized the need for full compliance with the Constitution in all cases.
"When it comes to Article 11 of the Constitution, which states there is only one currency in circulation in Kosovo, the same friends tell us not to implement this. The Constitution is either sacred and must be implemented, or we cherry-pick. If we have to cherry-pick, we'll do it. If it needs to be implemented, then insist that it be applied in all cases," he said.
In Kosovo, in all Serbian-majority areas, the population uses the Serbian dinar for payments. Those working in Serbian institutions in Kosovo also receive their salaries in dinars.
Pensions, according to the Serbian system, as well as child allowances and social benefits, are also paid in dinars.
In commercial establishments in areas where Serbs reside in Kosovo, in addition to euros, dinars are also used.
A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Pristina told Radio Free Europe that the Government of Kosovo should consult with the affected communities, address concerns expressed by the international community, and offer time for the decision's implementation to mitigate its impact on the affected residents.
"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 made with the Ahtisaari Plan, Serbia has the right to provide financial assistance to members of the Serbian community in Kosovo."
The Ahtisaari Plan is the document on which Kosovo's independence was declared, and the Constitution and laws of Kosovo were drafted.
Dinars have been introduced to Kosovo from Serbia through the National Bank of Serbia, which has a vault in Leposavic, a municipality in the north of Kosovo predominantly inhabited by Serbs. The money there is transported by the money transport company "Henderson."
The regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo states that the import and export of banknotes and coins in euros and other currencies in Kosovo are within its executive authority.
Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi stated that any citizen of the Republic of Kosovo who acted against the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo "has been consistently on the side of lawbreakers."
The US Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, called the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo an "unpleasant surprise."
The Serbian List, the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo enjoying the support of official Belgrade, stated that this decision of the "Albin Kurti regime" is a "decision to expel Serbs from these areas without using weapons."
Among other things in response, the US Embassy reiterated 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 within the legal framework of Kosovo."
According to them, "institutions providing key services - such as education and health - must be able to continue to function."
Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement on the Association in 2013 and later in 2015 on the principles for its establishment.
In 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that the agreement was not fully in line with the Constitution.
Serbia insists that Kosovo implement the agreements reached, but the Government of Kosovo has declared its opposition to a mono-ethnic association.
The Association should provide 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 for the Serbian community in Kosovo is foreseen through the Central Bank of Kosovo.