Dinars sent to Kosovo-Metohija in line with years-long practice - NBS

BELGRADE - In response to the latest statements by representatives of the Pristina interim institutions about Wednesday’s thwarted transfer of Serbian dinars to Kosovo-Metohija, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) once again underlined the funds had been intended for payment of wages, pensions, social benefits and other incomes to Serbs in the territory and that such a move by the Pristina authorities was yet another proof that their real intention was to deprive the Serbian population of the basic living conditions.

"The dinar cash was headed for the NBS treasury vault in Leposavic. It was transported by the vehicle of the NBS, which is the only competent issuing institution authorised to decide on the use of the dinar in the entire territory of the Republic of Serbia. In accordance with the usual, years-long practice, an NBS vehicle transporting dinars came to the Jarinje administrative crossing, where the cash shipment was supposed to be taken over by the vehicle of the Henderson company that is licensed for cash-in-transit services by the provisional Pristina institutions. However, the NBS vehicle was returned from the crossing without any explanation," the central bank said in a statement on Thursday.

"Yesterday’s halting of the much-needed transport of dinars only shows the intention of the provisional Pristina institutions to disregard the pleas of the international community and start applying as of February 1 2024 the unlawful and unprecedented measures aimed solely at preventing the smooth transport and distribution of the dinar and denying citizens in Kosovo-Metohija access to the basic means of living.

The adopted measures, which are exclusively politically and ethnically motivated, are contrary to any comparative professional practice and are unknown in any financial system that is even remotely aligned with international standards, which speaks volumes about the alleged 'independence' of the provisional institution in Kosovo-Metohija that adopted them.

Introduction of the obligation to obtain individual permits, instead of reporting requirement, for each amount of monetary funds transported over the administrative line, only for the financial institution which holds a special authorisation of Pristina, in a situation when NLB Komercijalna banka – the branch in Kosovska Mitrovica, after years-long pressure by the provisional Pristina institutions, was forced to close its branch offices – testifies to the true intentions of the provisional Pristina institutions."

"Moreover, representatives of these institutions have admitted in their statements that the hitherto transport of dinars to Kosovo-Metohija was permitted, that it functioned transparently and that they were familiar with the manner and quantity of the transported dinars. They thus contest their own incoherent attempts to present the new measures as aimed at preserving the integrity of the financial and monetary system, particularly since such statements are given by the institution that does not issue its own currency, that illegitimately declares the euro as the legal tender and the only means of payment and has no monetary policy instruments.

The NBS finds unacceptable the attempts of the provisional Pristina institutions to reduce the further talks – with a goal of purported well-being of all citizens in Kosovo-Metohija who earn in dinars – to the level of technical talks, whilst the actual aim is to have the unilateral and coercive measures accepted and legitimised.

The provisional Pristina institutions have best illustrated their purported readiness to talk and care about the Serbian population by the manner in which they adopted these decisions – away from the public eye and without a public debate which did not involve the Albanian population either, let alone the Serbs’ representatives in Kosovo-Metohija, and outside the process of dialogue.

For all the above reasons, the NBS maintains it is necessary to immediately annul the discriminatory, unlawful and unprecedented measures introduced by the provisional Pristina institutions, and stresses that the only possible way forward is to insist on the political format of the talks. There can be no agreements between the provisional self-government institutions and the NBS, as this matter as well must be resolved exclusively within the dialogue at the current level," the NBS said.