Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunication Rasim Ljajic said today that Belgrade in the dialogue with Pristina insists that at the same time, when Kosovo with the consent of Serbia receives area code, “Telecom” gets license for fixed and mobile telephony in Kosovo.
“The license is important, because otherwise the Telecom would work illegally. We want to ensure that Telecom operates legally in the territory of Kosovo,” Ljajic said.
He pointed out that Serbia’s proposal was to deposit the license for Telecom in the EU until Kosovo gets area code. The licence would be activated when Kosovo gets area code and said that Serbia does not want anyone to cheat.
The dispute was about the procedure of obtaining the area code, as Pristina wants Austria to apply for that number, we even agreed, but that Serbia gives consent.
“It is important how the number is registered. We were seeking to be ‘Kosovo, Serbia’ or to say ‘Kosovo’ without Serbia, but in a footnote to say that it is geographical code and the phone number is practically given with the consent of Serbia. Therefore, Serbia must be mentioned in the document,” said Ljajic reminding that Kosovo without Serbia’s consent cannot get area code, because it is not a UN member.
He said that Pristina was criticized by the EU for statements that do not correspond to reality.
“Pristina is constantly coming up with new demands, and each subsequent text always has some changes, but the goal is to create an allusion that Kosovo is independent, while we want an agreement which is status neutral,” said Ljajic.
