Kosovo fails to convert Serbian budget funds to Euros, says economist

The regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, requiring financial transactions to be conducted only in euros, has not achieved its goal, as Serbia's currency, the dinar, still circulates in Serbian-majority areas in Kosovo, and revenues from Serbia’s budget are not converted into euros, says economics professor Mejdi Bektashi of the University of Pristina, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

"This regulation was a rushed decision. A political decision by this Government," he believes, adding that the issue of removing the dinar should have been resolved through dialogue for normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia, mediated by the European Union.

Bektashi highlights that even a year after the regulation was adopted, no agreement exists on transferring funds that would provide the Central Bank of Kosovo access to these resources, according to REL.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK), Ahmet Ismaili, commenting on this regulation at the annual conference at the end of December, stated that it has had a "positive effect" on the entire financial sector, bringing about "sector unification and the cessation of illegal financing."