Maric: Development Fund for the North cut off from resources

The Development Fund for the North, established as part of the 2013 dialogue, was never able to function properly due to various obstructions from Pristina. However, the decision allowing Serbian goods to enter Kosovo and Metohija only through Merdare has completely prevented any funds from being collected for the fund, says Ljubomir Maric, who served as a member of the fund's management board representing the Serbian community from 2018 to 2020, in an interview with Kosovo Online.

“Under the pretext of lacking some technical resources, a decision was made to allow Serbian goods to enter only through Merdare. Albin Kurti staged a tactical performance. The customs collected on goods entering through Jarinje and Brnjak, intended for the four municipalities in the north, go to a special bank account. These funds are meant to be used for capital investments, subsidies, and economic development in these four municipalities. When goods do not pass through the Jarinje and Brnjak crossings, there is no way to collect funds for the fund,” Maric explains.

He does not believe that Merdare was chosen randomly, arguing that everything done by the government led by Albin Kurti ultimately aims to eliminate Serbs from Kosovo and “amputate everything Serbian,” including the Development Fund for the North.

“The funds collected in the fund never exceeded four million euros annually, although it was initially envisioned to reach six million euros. From the approximately 14 million euros collected, investments were made in infrastructure, subsidies for entrepreneurs and farmers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and everything that makes daily life easier for people,” Maric explains.

He recalls that the fund was established as a result of the Customs Agreement signed in January 2013 between Hashim Thaçi and then-Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic. As defined within the European Union, the fund was a transitional solution to secure resources for improving the lives of Serbs through infrastructure development until the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM), after which the funds would be collected within the CSM system.

The fund's management board, he adds, makes decisions by consensus and comprises a representative of the European Union in Kosovo, the Kosovo Minister of Finance, and a representative of the Serbian community appointed by the four northern mayors.

However, he points out, the fund never functioned optimally due to constant obstructions from Pristina and objections from the Minister of Finance.

“The biggest issue arose during Haradinaj’s tenure as head of the provisional institutions in Pristina, when there was a blockade on importing goods. So, the fund never managed to function as intended because every government continually sought to ensure that Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija do not live well. There was never a sincere desire for coexistence; there was always some form of obstruction. And with Albin Kurti, this is no longer mere obstruction. It is extreme nationalism with only one goal: Kosovo and Metohija without Serbs and a Greater Albania,” Maric concludes.