Tabakovic: Serbia cannot renounce the use of the dinar in Kosovo

The Governor of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Jorgovanka Tabakovic stated that the latest unilateral measures by Pristina to abolish the use of the dinar had been undoubtedly taken to worsen the position of the Serbian population and make the basic conditions for their life and work in Kosovo more difficult. She emphasized that the euro could not legally be a means of payment in Kosovo and that this issue should be resolved only within the framework of political dialogue.

"We are fighting as a team to find a solution, led by President Aleksandar Vucic, who is making superhuman efforts to overcome the problem," Tabakovic said in an interview for Novosti.

She pointed out that it was clear that these were discriminatory and unlawful measures that forcibly changed the practice of conducting payment transactions for those whose sources of income and business were in dinars, a practice that had been established and functioning for more than 20 years, and that there were no objective reasons for changing this good practice.

"Therefore, these unilateral measures must be revoked without delay, as their implementation will undoubtedly lead to an escalation of problems in Kosovo and additional pressure on the already endangered Serbian population," the governor said.

She also emphasizes that the NBS, in cooperation with other state institutions, will continue to do everything in its power to protect the interests of Serbian citizens living in Kosovo and prevent the consequences that the implementation of these measures may have for their survival.

When asked whether Serbia should accept that money be sent to Serbs in Kosovo in euros, Tabakovic responds that Pristina, first and foremost, cannot proclaim any currency as the only allowed one and emphasizes that the problem should be resolved within the framework of political dialogue.

"To begin with, things need to be put in the right place. Pristina is by no means authorized to proclaim the euro or any other foreign currency as the only one allowed, nor can the euro legally be a means of payment in Kosovo. Regarding proposals for Serbia to send funds to citizens in euros, such proposals are attempts to present relations between Belgrade and Pristina as alleged relations between two state entities, rather than relations between central authorities and the temporary institutions of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija," Tabakovic said.

She also emphasized that conducting payment transactions in euros, transferring salaries, pensions, and social benefits from the budget of Serbia to the accounts of institutions in Kosovo that were not licensed and supervised by the NBS meant giving up the possibility of conducting payment transactions in dinars on the territory of Kosovo and it prevented Serbia from controlling the use of these funds and provided direct access to Pristina to these funds, as well as the ability to block, freeze, or abuse them at any time.

"For all these reasons, the issue of financing the Serbian community and all citizens and entities that generate their income in dinars can only be resolved by insisting on a political format of dialogue, within the framework of the dialogue," the governor stated clearly.

When asked how she personally experienced the terror of Albin Kurti towards the Serbs, given that she was born in Pristina, she said that the intimidation and expulsion of the Serbs from their centuries-old hearth was a fact that no one could reconcile with.

"Who cares about my wounds and suffering, my scars, and where are the gravestones of my closest ones? Mine and all of us who have found our piece of heaven in this part of our Serbia. They say that’s life, things happen. But this is not a natural disaster; it is violence in a world that calls itself civilized. I have said many times that I had never planned to leave my city, and not only that, I believed that I would never have to do it," Tabakovic added.