Radojevic: Healthcare and education are not issues for mayors, but exclusively for negotiations in Brussels

The Mayor of North Mitrovica, Milan Radojevic, stated that together with other leaders of Serb-majority municipalities he met with Minister for Local Government Administration Elbert Krasniqi to discuss the problems they face in their municipalities, which, as he said, were found in a catastrophic condition, and stressed that there was no discussion of any alleged integration or the status of education and healthcare.

“We have just concluded a meeting with the Minister for Local Government Administration. The mayors of all ten Serb-majority municipalities presented the problems in their municipalities that we have been facing, and these are truly major problems, starting from the north, where there are serious staffing and institutional issues and changes to municipal boundaries. The municipalities are devastated, destroyed, and were found in a catastrophic state. From Gracanica, which has a problem with the central level regarding the non-implementation of assembly decisions, to Strpce and the other municipalities... All the mayors presented the problems they are facing. We asked the ministry to work in the interest of all municipalities, to take into account the opinions of the mayors and the municipalities we lead, so that we can all work together in the interest of our citizens,” Radojevic said.

He thanked the EU representatives who attended the meeting.

“EU representatives were present at the meeting, and we are especially grateful to them for taking the time and following it carefully. We discussed exclusively the problems in the municipalities, there was no mention of any alleged integration or the status of education and healthcare,” Radojevic added.

As he emphasized, issues concerning healthcare and education are not for mayors, but should be resolved in Brussels.

“As mayors, we believe this is not something we should deal with, but rather it is exclusively a topic for negotiations and for the chief negotiators of Belgrade and Pristina,” Radojevic concluded.