Kosovo Prime Minister Aljbin Kurti says that his government will not interfere with the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) to ban the dinar, but that the decision will not be overturned.
Kurti told the British media “Bloomberg” that he is in favor of the new regulations of the Central Bank of Kosovo for dealing with cash, Pristina media reports.
He added that the Serbs will have time to adapt to the new decision.
“I cannot reverse this decision. We will not have any kind of punitive measures, we do not want to punish anyone,” he said.
Speaking about the Brussels Agreement and the Ohrid Annex, Kurti said that an agreement with Serbia is needed as soon as possible and that the current tensions would not have existed if there had been de facto and de jure recognition by Serbia.
The governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo, Ahmet Ismailji, said in the Slobodno Srpski program that the CBK Regulation on cash transactions, dated December 27, 2023, which caused concern among Kosovo citizens who receive income in dinars, was enacted to ensure integrity and improve the financial system. of Kosovo.
“The decree initially addressed the issue of the integrity of the country’s financial system, it regulated that the import and export of money, cash in Kosovo, is carried out only through the Central Bank, because, in accordance with the law, it is the only one authorized to supply the economy, or if it is carried out by by other financial institutions, to request permission from the Central Bank. So, in this way, we will know how much money is coming in and from which local or international bank, and also how much money is going out,” Ismailji said.
The CBK regulation did not directly ban any currency, he added, not even the dinar, which has the same status as other non-euro currencies.
“If we were to ban the dinar, we would also have to ban the pound, franc, and dollar. In fact, they were not banned, it was just defined that only one currency, the euro, serves as a means of payment, as a payment instrument. All other currencies , including the dinar, are allowed to be had. So, every Serb from Kosovo, does not commit any violation of the law when he has dinars in his pocket, it is his choice, he has the right to go and convert them in a licensed institution, either euros to dinars, whether dinars in euros, he has the right to have a savings account in the bank, if the bank offers him in dinars,” he said and confirmed that the Regulation does not prohibit receiving funds from Serbia in any of its articles, Beta news agency writes.
