The authorities in Pristina have announced that they will Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija to be given a three-month deadline to obtain local documents, ahead of the start of the implementation of the law on foreigners. At the same time, residents of central Serbia who work and study in northern Kosovo and Metohija will be able to obtain temporary residence permits for a period of one year.
This solution followed weeks of talks between representatives of Belgrade, Pristina and the European Union. It was confirmed that the agreement was reached with the mediation of the Head of the EU Office in Pristina and the EU's Envoy for Dialogue, Peter Sorensen.
Member of the Presidency of the Serbian List, Igor Simić, told RTS that the solution reached avoided a scenario that, as he says, would have had serious consequences for the Serbian community in Kosovo and Metohija.
"We have eliminated a major threat to the essential survival and survival of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija," said Simić.
According to him, if the law had been implemented as originally announced, thousands of people would have found themselves in a very difficult situation.
"This would mean that thousands of Serbs on March 15, just because they do not have Kosovo documents, would have to remain at the Jarinje and Brnjak administrative crossings and be separated from their families," Simić said.
He warned that such a situation would seriously jeopardize the functioning of the education and healthcare systems.
"The education and health sectors would be paralyzed, because a large number of professors at the University of Pristina with a temporary seat in Kosovska Mitrovica do not have Kosovo documents," Simić added.
According to him, a problem would also arise for doctors and medical workers who come from central Serbia to provide health services to citizens in Kosovo and Metohija.
"Many experts from clinical and hospital centers in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Valjevo and Niš would be prevented from coming and helping our citizens," Simić pointed out.
He states that this issue involved more than 10,000 people living in Kosovo and Metohija.
"That's almost ten percent of the total population, and endangering the work of health and educational institutions would affect everyone - the sick, children and the elderly," said Simić.
Two categories of persons to whom the decision applies
Speaking about the procedure that will be applied in the coming period, Simić says that there are two categories of persons to whom the decision applies.
"People living in Kosovo and Metohija will be able to obtain Kosovo documents through simplified procedures, based on Serbian documents," Simić explained.
On the other hand, persons coming to work in the education and health sectors will receive special residence permits.
"Based on the lists that will be compiled by our educational and healthcare institutions, they will be able to obtain the right to reside for 12 months, with the possibility of extension," Simić said.
A large number of students from central Serbia and the region
He particularly emphasized that a large number of students at the University of Pristina with its temporary headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica come from central Serbia and the region.
"Nearly one-third of students come from central Serbia, northern Montenegro and Republika Srpska, and they mean a lot to life and the economy in northern Kosovo and Metohija," said Simić.
Responding to assessments by some in the public that the agreement is a step towards integration into the Kosovo system, Simić says that such claims do not correspond to reality.
"There is no talk of integrating healthcare and education in the way Kurti wanted," Simić said. He stressed that students will continue their education in Serbian institutions.
"From March 15th, my children and all other children will go to Serbian schools and continue their education according to the Serbian curriculum," said Simić.
He also adds that teachers and doctors will continue to work as before.
"All professors and doctors will come and do their jobs normally, as they have done so far," Simić said. He pointed out that the European Union has been asked to monitor the implementation of the agreement reached.
"We demanded that the European Union monitor the implementation of this agreement so that there are no surprises," said Simić.
