The EU office in Kosovo opposes the government's decision to collect part of the debt for electricity from the Development Fund for the North

The European Union office in Pristina opposes the decision of the Kosovo government to collect part of the debt from the Development Fund for the North for the electricity used in the municipalities in the north.

As stated in the reply of the EU Office in Kosovo to RTV Dukagjini, the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo does not foresee that the money from the Development Fund is spent for these purposes.

"Currently, 3.6 million euros are available for the payment of new projects. The payment of debts for electricity does not meet the criteria for financing projects from the Development Fund, defined by the Brussels Agreement for the collection of revenue from customs duties of January 17, 2013," reads the answer of the EU office.

The purpose of the Fund is the development and integration of northern municipalities, and the funds are collected from the import of goods through the Jarinje and Brnjak crossings.

As announced by the EU office, more than 14.5 million euros have been allocated since the establishment of the Fund for various projects promoting the socio-economic development of four northern municipalities.

Almost 12 million euros is the amount that the government decided to collect from four municipalities in the north, in the name of the alleged electricity debt of the residents who live there. Part of the debt, the government intends to collect from the budget of northern municipalities, and part from the fund that was formed in 2013 based on the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.

The Ministry of Finance did not answer RTV Dukagjini’s question about the exact value received from the Fund for the payment of the alleged electricity debt.