Ymeri: O'Brien's message one of the most serious for Kosovo; the issue of the dinar connected to the CSM

Political analyst Visar Ymeri stated for Kosovo Online that the message from the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, James O'Brien, that the decision regarding the dinar would jeopardize the partnership between the US and Kosovo was one of the most serious that Pristina had received and that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti should consider it.

Ymeri emphasizes that Kosovo had not received such messages before.

"The decision regarding the dinar is legal and legitimate and should be implemented, but when it comes to implementation, our government should consider the lives of people living in Kosovo, who are our fellow citizens, and whose lives should be improved, not worsened. I think the biggest messages and criticisms about this decision from our partners came because of the impact that decision may have on the lives of Kosovo Serbs, especially Kosovo Serbs in northern Kosovo. I think that, as it has been discussed publicly, Prime Minister Kurti agrees that citizens should be better informed and that we should consider everything before implementing that decision, but it seems that for US diplomats and EU members, this decision is not just about citizens not being well informed about what it means, how it will be implemented, but the decision is also connected to other topics in the dialogue, especially with the implementation of the agreement on the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities," Ymeri said.

Also, Ymeri believes that the decision regarding the dinar is connected to the establishment of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

"I think it is connected to that, and Kurti does not want to take that into account and understand it. Why is it connected? Because of schools, because of hospitals, and all the other structures that function in Kosovo and are supported by the Serbian Government. I think that with this, the decision is also linked since salaries for teachers, doctors, and nurses will still come from Serbia, but when the Community is formed, then it will come through our banking system, which automatically means it will be implemented in euros," Ymeri emphasizes.

Ymeri believes that the issue regarding the dinar should have been resolved within the framework of dialogue, and therefore, as he says, the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo and the Kosovo Prime Minister is now seen as unilateral and ineffective.

"Also, it can be an obstacle in the dialogue designed to find a solution to all these problems," he said.