Lucic: I'm going to Pristina on Monday, I will point out the aggressive approach of Kurti's administration toward MTS

Vladimir Lucic, the CEO of Telekom Serbia, stated today that he would travel to Pristina on Monday to attend numerous meetings aimed at resolving all the issues faced by their subsidiary company, "MTS," in Kosovo.

Appearing on TV Prva, he mentioned that his visit to Kosovo had also been prepared during meetings at the State Department, where he had been in December.

"I went to the State Department to prepare well for the meetings scheduled for next week, specifically on Monday, with representatives of the international community, so I will be with my team in Pristina next week, once again highlighting all the points that show the very aggressive approach of Kurti's administration toward our subsidiary company," Lucic said.

He adds that in August, Kurti showed his ultimate goal when he attempted to shut down MTS completely.

"Back then, they failed to shut us down, and now they are going with plan B, making our operations difficult primarily by limiting our actions. They prevented us from acquiring a small cable operator in Gracanica. They are trying retroactively to take away cable operators that we acquired in 2019. They imposed an unreasonable fine of one and a half million euros on us. What particularly irritates and intimidates our employees is when, last month, during a routine inspection by the Competition Authority, they brought the police with long guns. They stayed for several hours in the data center in Zvecan, which indicates that it was practically done due to pressure on the employees. This kind of treatment toward our company must stop. In my opinion, the international community is facing a big test," Lucic emphasized.

The Telekom director states that the Kurti administration must adhere to the Brussels Agreement, but it consistently violates its own laws.

"I had significant support from the US Embassy; we also had support from Mr. Lajcak. It was mentioned that Pristina authorities should not violate the Brussels Agreement and attempt to erase us by breaking their own laws. So, I expect support this time as well. We will bring in experts and people who have previously worked and led the legal part of the European Commission to explain in what scandalous way the Competition Protection Agency is behaving, and I believe that neither Europe nor America can allow that," Lucic stated.

He highlights that before Kurti's administration, MTS had no business problems; they had understanding from people who worked in regulatory bodies.

"Now they twist it to simply try to reduce our operations with the ultimate goal of trying to push us out. In addition, since they started attacking us, as a specific point we also have the issue of granting the third mobile telecommunications license. It is written in the Brussels Agreement, and it is their obligation. They have been avoiding giving us the third license for ten years because they know that we would dominate the mobile telecommunications market then, as we have two very weak competitors. Now, under the table, they have given those existing operators some 5G licenses just so that the issue of the third license would not be raised," Lucic noted.

As he added, he will also go to Kosovo on February 5th, when he will also have meetings with foreign ambassadors.

"I am very optimistic and believe that we will finally resolve all the problems our company has down there. Currently, they show no respect for anything. Western administrations must face the truth and see that they have a big problem with Kurti's administration," Lucic concluded.