INTERVIEW: UK Ambassador in Pristina spoke exclusively on Trepča, cooperation with northern municipalities, budgets, double salaries and the instituional crisis in Kosovo
I see all four of mayors fairly regularly. I am going to see one of them today. I think that the problem is getting off the ground is been extremely difficult because the structure of the Serbian municipalities are fundamentally different from the structures of the Kosovo municipality, and that is why we always have the problems over the budgets, which still have to be resolved. A lot of the services that are provided by a Serbian municipality are outsourced within the Kosovo system, so these people are not part of the municipal budget. So I think all of that has taken up a lot of time with the new municipalities in the North, the new mayors in the North. But when I talk to all of them, including the mayor of North Mitrovica, they make this point of importance of the agriculture, about the importance of small businesses, so we are hoping to do more. We have done quite a lot in Zubin Potok with small business, as well as here in Zvečan, but another project with small farmers, a joint project supported by Caritas, which is in Leposavić and in Mitrovica South. So it brings Albanians and Serbs together.
Still, northern Kosovo has the many decade tradition in industry rather than being an agricultural area itself?
Well of course, we have our history in this region also, because Trepča was very originally a British investment. I think that just because we are supporting the agriculture, it does not mean that we should not look in industry. Trepča would be still a very important key to the economy in this region in the future, but of course, it needs huge investment. It needs investment not only in their modernizing the productive capacities of all sorts, not only just led, nicl, zinc, but it needs to be brought up through EU environmental standards and that will require investor who is going to carry a long term perspective. Sometimes I think that people here think that if the money came in Trepča, that people who invested will be making profit in one or two years. I think that it is up to ten or twenty year investment that you need, because of the huge environmental clean-up that is needed.
I remember of very similar words spoken by the former SRSG Kouchner in 2000 on the occasion of taking over the control over Trepča, who announced concrete and huge international investments in Trepča’s revival. Almost fifteen years have passed since then, and yet, nothing has ever happened since then?
Well, it’s very difficult, because first of all, I think that the Privatization Agency of Kosovo, which under Kosovo system is structurally responsible for both, north and south, really doesn’t have the capacity to deal with the kind of complicated financial engineering investments that’s required for Trepča. We know that the outgoing minister of economic development did prepare the law that covered Trepča and some other enterprises and bring them under the umbrella of the Ministry to look for private public partnership. That law was lost after the Parliament resolved, but I think that lot of people think that is really the way forward. And of course, we’ve got the problem that Trepča North in reality devolves both to the Pristina structures and Belgrade, and I think, if there’s going to be an investment to Trepča, you know the sort of metal industry companies, we need to have the political solution to that problem.
Is the EU truly devoted to the concrete solution to this issue? Is there any concrete plan?
I do not think that the EU really has focused on that question. Whereas the UK, I think that there are companies in Germany, possibly the US that have, but I do not think that this is a question that has really been much in focus in Brussels. We have to face the reality that Kosovo is saying very strongly that is not prepared to discuss this in the dialogue, because the Trepča North stays out of the Kosovo and has nothing to do with Serbia. I would point out that one or two mines actually go under the ABF. I do not know quite how we take it forward. We need a government in Pristina. I do think we need a new law and we need to look at how these business decisions got to be made. All business decisions are political ones. Even international investors are based in UK, and they include Norwegian companies, they include South African companies, not just British companies and I think that is what you need for investment in Trepča. I am sure it will not be a simple privatization, it will be some sort of public-private partnership, looking on some of the models that have been used in South Africa and Central Asia, for bringing in the investors, but ensuring the country, its treasury and its finance.
What is the main message which the northern mayors convey to you?
Well, overwhelmingly the message is: "We do not know how to deal with the budget offered by Pristina, we need to sort out which employees we really need for the future and how we divide package for those that we do not need, how we deal with the transition from essentially Serbian municipality to Kosovo municipality" – this is hugely complicated. So, I do think, that what we really need to do first is to have a proper audit of who is employed in these municipalities, who is getting the salary from Pristina, who is getting a salary from Belgrade and who is getting the salary from both. And of course, it is difficult because some people do not want to admit that they got two salaries and they do not want to admit that they are paid by Pristina. But when you look at the budgets, it is really weird. Just take Leposavić, where the provision includes the mayor who was there in 2002, it includes a budget for the Albanian villages in Leposavić, but not for the main part of the Leposavić. So I really think, we need to start by an audit of who is being paid, what are they being paid for, who are they being paid by. Obviously nobody should be on a double salary, although the reality is different and then start to work.
When the audit in your opinion can take place?
I think it is something that EU, UNDP, USAID, all need to help with, because it’s a big job.
Are you familiar with the information that as a compromise, the international community and Kosovo authorities are willing to provide salaries for the currently proposed staff of the northern municipalities until 2016, but from that year onword – there will not be any further room for the overstuffed structures?
Well, I think that the bitter reality is that in all countries of this region, you have municipalities which are overstuffed, because their stuff, in the way which municipalities were stuffed in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and everywhere, including my country – changes. New structures of managements mean smaller numbers of people. What we need to do in Kosovo is to try make a real economy take off, so that you don’t just suddenly make a whole lot of people unemployed, but it would be paid by the state structures. We need to have a stronger economy to take the block, but I think that the number of jobs in the government will be smaller in the future, everywhere.
What is your perspective to the solution to the institutional crisis? What is in your opinion a more realistic scenario – (V)LAN – PDK coalition, or new elections?
We continue to think that last of new elections were not best outcome. But what I need you to remember is that these elections which included a reasonable participation from the people of the North, were the best elections Kosovo has ever had. They ’ve got a seal of approval from the EU. It is not one of very good message (the possibility of new elections, a.n.) for people in Brussels, and the European commissioners, my representatives in Brussels, if these very good elections simply lead to another set of elections, and everyone says across the board politically – if there are new elections, they would be bad elections. Everyone will be tempted to cheat because people will be fighting for their jobs, people who've been reinstalled in these institutions by PDK, or think their jobs are at risks, so the danger of manipulation is huge. And it costs the money, which the country doesn’t have huge financial resources. To run another elections will be very expensive, and it’s quite possible the result will be more or less the same and we’ll still have the same problem. I think that that’s the solution of the last resort if you like. As far as coalitions are concerned, the view of the British government is that this is the matter of the Kosovo politicians. They have to work this out, this is a test for Kosovo, and if Kosovo politicians can’t work it out, of course, it plays into the hands of the countries in the EU who have not recognised Kosovo and they would say: "This is a non – functional state". That would be the message. Our message is simply that politicians need to overcome this problem, they need to support the efforts of the President and they need to apply by the decisions of the Constitutional Court. But you know, we have a situation where it’s fairly clear that because of the Constitutional court's decisions, the PDK had the right to nominate the Speaker, who must be from the PDK as it is the largest political group as the Constitutional Court devided, but it’s also pretty clear, it is the VLAN Coalition that have the majority of the votes and largest number of MPs.
Is the public mistaken when perceiving this problem as the fighting arena between the two people, eager to win the power – Hashim Thaci, who have the power within the institutions and do not want to give it up and Ramush Haradinaj, who is quite eager to take the Prime Minister’s seat?
Well, that’s the part of it, but I don’t mean that’s the whole story. One has to remember that LDK is the second largest party, that the lot of the problems that we're having now over the questions of the Speaker, that because under the Coalition agreement it is Isa Mustafa who is supposed to be the Speaker. And we mustn’t forget the Vetvendosje dimension, who is quiet a big party, and we mustn't forget the minority dimension as well – you have ten Kosovo Serb MPs, then you have ten MPs from other communities. They also have big interest in this.
Would the situation be different if the Serbian MPs had not voted for Mr. Isa Mustafa to become the Speaker? Would the crisis last less in such a case?
No, I don’t actually think that it would’ve made difference. I’m sure they did that because of the numbers. I think that important thing for the MPs from the Serbian community and the other minority communities is that they should not be the determining factor in which Kosovo Albanian leads. So, I mean, we don’t think that the MPs from those minorities think that they should, in the end, be the ones to decide where to put – to Mr. Thaci or Mr. Haradinaj, but they have said they will support whoever conform a government. And when you’ve got the numbers, the VLAN coalition plus the minorities, even without the Vetvendosje, it comes over 60. So I understand why they did that, and I understand why the Srpska Lista are saying ‘’we’re not keen on having Vetevendosje lead the dialogue,’’ because I don’t think that we’re very keen on that either. At least, we have made it very clear that the continuing of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is absolutely crucial.
During this conversation you have mentioned “reasonable” participation of Serbs in the elections. Are you familiar with the fact that Kosovo Serbs did practically boycotted these polls, unlike the local ballot? And while there were no problems during the voting process itself and the situation remained calm, nonetheless, people here did not vote of which the international community is aware. Somehow, it seems that everyone pretends as has not seen it?
I don’t agree with that, I know that there was a certain amount of encouragement, shall we say – for people to vote, but as far as I know, the 25 percent did come out.
Your Excellence, I don’t know if you have visited the polling stations in the North during the elections. We did and we filmed an empty polling station throughout the whole day. Yet, in the end, the ballot box was filled with votes….
…But, all right. Will President Jahjaga go to Belgrade?
I don’t know, you’ ll have to ask them.
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