Flash News

'Bankers' tax evasion, Chinese CEO and former director jailed

Two cars collide on the Saranda-Delvina axis, 4 injured

Bomb alert, Police remove MPs and media from Kosovo Parliament building

"The will of the people" and the irony of ordered resignations

Vote recount in Durrës ends without changes

Kosova

France criticizes Kosovo for closing Serbian financial institutions in the north

Politiko 2024-05-22 16:49:22

France criticizes Kosovo for closing Serbian financial institutions in the north

The Foreign Ministry of France expressed concerns with the latest action carried out by the Kosovo Police in the four municipalities in the north, saying that these "unilateral actions contribute to the escalation of tensions".

On May 20, Kosovo authorities closed six facilities of the Post Savings Bank and the People's Bank of Serbia operating in the four municipalities in the north, inhabited by a majority of Serbs.

During the action, which the Kosovo authorities said was about establishing "order and legality", various evidence, including money, was confiscated.

The police action of May 20 has been criticized by the United States and the European Union. Washington said that the action was uncoordinated with international partners, while Brussels described it as an escalating action.

According to the French MFA, the unilateral actions "threaten ongoing discussions" in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which is mediated by the European Union, to find a temporary solution for the people affected by the implementation of the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo on cash payments.

Since February 1, the new CBK regulation has entered into force in Kosovo, which foresees the euro as the sole currency for making payments, prohibiting the use of the Serbian dinar.

"France called on the Kosovar authorities to refrain from any further unilateral action. We encourage both parties to return to the negotiating table and work on the compromise proposal presented by the European mediator, which is the only real basis for reaching an agreement that allows the beneficiaries to receive financial transfers from Serbia," it was said. in the announcement of France.

Kosovo and Serbia have met seven times in recent months in Brussels, within the dialogue mediated by the EU, to find a solution for the sending of financial aid from Serbia to the Serbs of Kosovo, but they have not found agreement so far. The international community has requested the suspension of the CBK regulation, until the Serbian community, which for years has been accepting various payments in dinars from Serbia, adapts to the new practice./REL

Latest news