“Money collected at crossings goes to special fund”

BELGRADE Belgrade team head in technical talks Dejan Pavicevic says money collected at the Brnjak and Jarinje crossins will go to a special fund for northern Kosovo. “The agreement on money that goes to the Fund for the north is clear and it is completely unambiguous how the money from taxes at Jarinje and Brnjak will be collected and distributed,” he said. “Money collected at crossings goes to special fund” “The money will go directly to the Fund and it will be distributed from the Fund for the needs of four municipalities in northern Kosovo and Metohija,” Pavicevic told Radio Television of Serbia (RTS). When asked about information coming from Pristina regarding the Fund and money distribution, he said that various information came from Pristina and that media and the public perhaps paid too much attention to it. The team head said that it was possible that someone in Pristina was releasing false information for political reasons. “However, it is very clearly defined how it will be done and how the Fund will look like,” Pavicevic said and added that there were no information if the EU had already founded the Fund. According to him, the EU has accepted the role of mediator and a guarantor of all agreements that have been reached and that will be reached in the future. “So the EU needs to stand by what has been agreed and to insist on it. Otherwise, we will not accept the implementation of the agreement,” he underscored. Pavicevic explained that the Fund would have a special account that would be managed by the Board of Directors. He added that a Serb, Albanian and international representative would be in the Board of Directors. He claims that the money would not be used for anything other than development of northern Kosovo. Pavicevic said that he had regular meetings with representatives of northern Kosovo Serbs, that Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo Director Aleksandar Vulin was often in the province and that they had close ties with the local Serbs. “The crossings will not be border crossings, certain taxes will be paid and this is something that is defined in the (UN Security Council) Resolution 1244, that Kosovo is actually a unique customs territory and that it has some special customs regime but what we insist on and what has been reached in the negotiations is that all revenues collected will be used for the development of northern Kosovo and Metohija,” he stressed. The team head said he hoped that a liaison officer would be named soon and added that some technical details still needed to be defined regarding the work of the liaison officers. He said it was still unknown when the liaison officers would start their work but that it was expected to happen soon. “I do not know how we can give a special status to someone we consider our citizen. This will be a person that will make the communication easier and that’s it,” Pavicevic said when asked if Pristina’s liaison officer would have a special status. Dejan Pavicevic (Tanjug, file) RTS Tanjug

“Money collected at crossings goes to special fund”

“The money will go directly to the Fund and it will be distributed from the Fund for the needs of four municipalities in northern Kosovo and Metohija,” Pavićević told Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).

When asked about information coming from Priština regarding the Fund and money distribution, he said that various information came from Priština and that media and the public perhaps paid too much attention to it.

The team head said that it was possible that someone in Priština was releasing false information for political reasons.

“However, it is very clearly defined how it will be done and how the Fund will look like,” Pavićević said and added that there were no information if the EU had already founded the Fund.

According to him, the EU has accepted the role of mediator and a guarantor of all agreements that have been reached and that will be reached in the future.

“So the EU needs to stand by what has been agreed and to insist on it. Otherwise, we will not accept the implementation of the agreement,” he underscored.

Pavićević explained that the Fund would have a special account that would be managed by the Board of Directors. He added that a Serb, Albanian and international representative would be in the Board of Directors.

He claims that the money would not be used for anything other than development of northern Kosovo.

Pavićević said that he had regular meetings with representatives of northern Kosovo Serbs, that Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo Director Aleksandar Vulin was often in the province and that they had close ties with the local Serbs.

“The crossings will not be border crossings, certain taxes will be paid and this is something that is defined in the (UN Security Council) Resolution 1244, that Kosovo is actually a unique customs territory and that it has some special customs regime but what we insist on and what has been reached in the negotiations is that all revenues collected will be used for the development of northern Kosovo and Metohija,” he stressed.

The team head said he hoped that a liaison officer would be named soon and added that some technical details still needed to be defined regarding the work of the liaison officers.

He said it was still unknown when the liaison officers would start their work but that it was expected to happen soon.

“I do not know how we can give a special status to someone we consider our citizen. This will be a person that will make the communication easier and that’s it,” Pavićević said when asked if Priština’s liaison officer would have a special status.