Shahini: The dinar issue in Kosovo should be resolved based on EU and US recommendations

The solutions to the issue of dinar usage should be sought based on recommendations from the European Union and the United States, Agim Shahini, the president of the Alliance of Kosovo Businesses, assessed for Kosovo Online ahead of another round of dialogue in Brussels, and he added that the international community should increase pressure on both the Kosovo and Serbian sides.

Shahini claims that the Kosovo and Serbian governments have a mutual problem, which is not the case with the people who, as he emphasizes, are merely victims. He stressed that cooperation between the Central Bank in Pristina and in Belgrade must be established to resolve the dinar issue in favor of the citizens.

"I expect this dinar issue to be resolved based on the recommendations provided by both the EU and the US. I expect the problem to be resolved in the right direction. Citizens who receive their salaries in dinars face a problem because they have to travel and exit Kosovo daily. There are several possibilities to solve these problems within Kosovo, allowing people to receive their money as they wish, to keep their capital in dollars, euros, and dinars. That is their right. Just as in Germany, you can have euros, francs, or any currency, no one prohibits you. However, this problem needs to be resolved within the payment system, and all payments made by businesspeople from Kosovo to Serbia are made in euros, while dinars are received there. So, they (Serbia) should pay dinars there, and here, citizens should receive payments in euros. Therefore, the Central Banks must cooperate and solve this problem in favor of the citizens of Kosovo," he said.

Shahini emphasizes that both the Kosovo and Serbian sides lack seriousness in the dialogue because, as he points out, they deal with daily rather than strategic politics, which, as he said, would lead to victory for both sides in the negotiations.

"The problem is about dinars now, we have a problem with the movement of goods from Serbia to Kosovo. The problem is that Serbs did not participate in the referendum, the problem is consumption, poverty, and movement. You saw a few days ago the detention of buses at the border with Croatia. Based on all of this, in my opinion, Serbia and Kosovo are giving hatred to the people, not progress, which citizens expect from their rulers," he said.

Shahini expects international forces to increase pressure on both the Kosovo and Serbian sides to resolve the issue. As he claims, the problem between Serbs from Kosovo and the Kosovo government "exists because of politics, not reality."

"I think everyone should assess their own reality; now Kosovo is entering the Council of Europe, which will bring more obligations towards citizens. Therefore, Serbs should utilize all of this, and likewise, the government of Serbia should try to solve the existing problem rather than fueling the fire. We have seen this several times already, and also, the Kosovo side is keeping tensions high in northern Kosovo," he emphasized.