Djuric signals plan for KiM's economic recovery

BELGRADE - Marko Djuric, director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM), said on Friday that it is necessary to make a plan for the province's economic recovery, as the social and economic situation in KiM is bad, with 60-70 percent of people in the Serb-majority areas being jobless.

In a meeting of the parliamentary committee on KiM, Djuric said that a majority of Serbs live off various forms of state assistance, and that such a situation is unsustainable in the long run.

“The unemployment in the Serb-majority areas is higher than in any other part of our country. That's why the office intends to make a plan for economic recovery with other ministries,” Djuric said, noting that Serbia financed entrepreneurs in the province even before, but the policy did not yield results.

Djuric, who submitted a report to the parliamentary committee on the Office's work in the first six months of this year, said that the Serbian side is conscientiously implementing the Brussels accord, which is not the case with Pristina.

He said that Pristina did not adhere to the part of the Brussels agreement that relates to the integration of members of the Serbian interior ministry (MUP) into the Kosovo police, and that 50 MUP members were not admitted to “the provincial services”.

Djuric also said that for the first time since the unilateral declaration of KiM's independence, Serbs took part in the general elections on June 8.

It will not be possible to form a Kosovo government without Serb representatives, and that will enable us to put an end to the usurpation of the Serb property in KiM, Djuric said.

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