DARKNESS and SILENCE AFTER the BRUXELLES AGREEMENT Analysis of the Agreement on Energy and Communications

Sanja Sovrlić • Snežana Đapić

DARKNESS AND SILENCE AFTER THE BRUXELLES AGREEMENT Analysis of the Agreement on Energy and Communications

We here, apparently, according to developments so far, have people who make very important decisions without having a clue who sits opposite of them.

Sanja Sovrlić, Snežana Đapić DARKNESS AND SILENCE AFTER THE BRUXELLES AGREEMENT

Publisher NVO „Radio MIR“ Vojske Jugoslavije 26 Leposavić

For publisher Sanja Sovrlić

Print Urban Pixel Kosovska Mitrovica

Circulation 200 copies Contents

List of Abbreviations...... 5

1 INTRODUCTION...... 7

2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS...... 9 Results...... 13 television Signal...... 14 Landline and Mobile Telephone Networks...... 15 Results ...... 17 problems in functioning of telephony in the north of Kosovo...... 19 group for Implementation of the Agreement ...... 20 Results ...... 20 3 ENERGY...... 21 State of Play in the Field of Energy in the North of Kosovo ...... 23 Development of Negotiations About Energy ...26 establishment of new companies ...... 27 4 CONCLUSION...... 31 Telecommunications...... 32 Energy ...... 33 5 RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 35 General Recommendations ...... 36 Telecommunications ...... 36 Energy...... 36 recommendations for citizens ...... 37 Literature...... 38 List of Abbreviations

EMS – Electro-Network of Serbia ENTSO E – European Network of electricity transfer operators KOSTT – System, Transmission and the market for Electricity of Kosovo KEK – Kosovo Energy Corporation, JSC. KEDS – Office for Electricity Distribution in Kosovo, JSC. EPS – Electro-Industry of Serbia EK – Elektro-Kosmet (Electrodistribution Kosovska Mitrovica) ES – Electro-North ITU – International Telecommunications Union RAEPK – Regulatory Agency for Electronic and Postal Communications of Kosovo JP - Publicly Owned Enterprise (POE) ZSO – Association of Serbian Municipalities ARBK – Kosovo Agency for Business Registration ICANN – International organization for alternative way of regulation of communication sector GSM – Global system for mobile communications INTRODUCTION 1 8 INTRODUCTION 1

n the four municipalities in north of Kosovo electricity supply is not sta- ble (frequent power cuts, especially during winter time), and the quality of these services is not on a sufficient level. From year 1999 in municipalities North Mitrovica, Zvečan, Zubin Potok and Leposavić collecting on electricity bills is not functioning, and the authorized distributors lack mechanisms Ito charge the service delivered. Within the Bruxelles Dialogue several agreements were signed for regulation of particular areas, but its implementation is marred with numerous problems, delays and ambiguities. Agreements on energy and telecommunications are directly dealing with quality of life of the people, and unlike other arrangements, concern a large number of citizens.

The Agreement on telecommunications had the objective of obtaining the telephone area number for Kosovo (+383) and regulating the work of mobile telephone operators from Serbia in the north of Kosovo. In November 2016, during the negotiations in Bruxelles, a further implementation of this Agreement was agreed, i.e. its version from 2013 and 2015, respectively. This Agreement concerns operations of Telekom Serbia in Kosovo through the company MTS DOO and it regulates the possibility of setting tariffs for calls between places in central Serbia and those in Kosovo, as inter - city calls. Having in mind from the fact that communications and use of telephones influence daily life of citizens in sense of everyday communication, the interest of citizens for practical implementation of this Agreement is very big.

The Agreement on Energy entails establishment of two enterprises (EPS Trgovina and Elektrosever) which would deal with distribution and billing and charging electricity in municipalities Zvečan, North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok and Leposavić. The research undertaken in 2016 by NGO Radio Mir and team for Social Re- searches (Tim za društvena istraživanja) shows that citizens are not familiar with provisions of the Agreement that concerns energy1.

The goal of this study is, through analysis of all so far concluded agreements and the development of their implementation) to provide more information to citizens about how will these agreement reflect on their everyday life. The Study also contains recommendations both for decision-makers and citizens in order for implementation of agreed matter in future to be more transparent.

1 “Let’s ask north - research of opinions of citizens in the north of Kosovo about public and communal services” which was undertaken during 206 by NVO Radio Mir in four municipalities in the north of Kosovo showed that 64,5% of respondents were not familiar with the content of Brux- elles Agreement on energy. TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2 10 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2

he Bruxelles Agreement on Telecommunications has, more than any other agreement so far, met significant reactions of the public in north of Kosovo. While other agreements concluded so far, during implementation, were dealing with a certain category of population, this agreement concerns a large number of people from various social cat- Tegories, in fact all those who own a land line or mobile telephone. The most important result in implementation of this agreement is establishment of company „MTS DOO“, which is in charge for telecommunications in Serbian communities in Kosovo, in particular in municipalities North Mitrovica, Zvečan, Zubin Potok and Leposavić. With establishment of this company in Kosovo, mobile operators VIP and Telenor ceased their operations, which mean that the newly founded company gets the monopoly over telecommunications in the north of Kosovo. Regardless of deficiencies in implementation of this agreement, citizens of Koso- vo who live in Serbian majority communities still find these services more af- fordable than those from other Kosovo operators (IPKO and VALA). The reason for this is lower prices for calls to Serbia. However, this company operates based on a temporary business license, and it is still unknown what will happen after expiration of the two-year period of validity of the permit for work for MTS DOO. Same as the Bruxelles process in general, this agreement is also not transparent, and thus it leaves space for different interpretations by negotiating parties, as well as by wider public. Citizens who took part in this survey are not informed about further steps in implementation of what was agreed upon. Not even the employees of MTS DOO were sufficiently informed about further steps in implementation of this agreement. They are former employees of Telekom Serbia, and they were learning about further obligations along with the daily work. When there was disconnecting of clients who did not undertake a timely re-registration from one to another company, the officials in MTS DOO did not know im- mediately how to proceed in this situation, and also what was the procedure for reconnecting and re/registration of clients, so they were telling to citizens to come next day since they still did not get instructions what to do exactly2.

2 This was confirmed by citizens who participated in Focus groups, an also authors of the study “Darkness and silence after the Bruxelles Agreement” had similar experiences during re-registration in MTS DOO 2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 11

AREA CODE FOR KOSOVO

AGREED DEADLINES RESULTS ISSUANCE OF THREE 31/ 12/ 2013. – first Beginning of 2016 DIGIT AREA CODE deadline Austria requested a NUMBER TO KOSOVO number for Kosovo, 15/ 08/ 2017. – second Serbia has given consent deadline in December 2016.

01/ 01/ 2016. – 15/ 12/ 2016. ITU addressing to ITU issued +383 as a territorial area code, 01/ 03/ 2016. – granting which Serbia gives to the area number Kosovo for use 15/ 03/ 2016. – decrease of costs of local calls OPERATORS ACCEPTED THE OBLIGATION TO LOWER THE COOSTS 15/ 01/ 2017 Regulatory Agency for telecommunications of Kosovo granted to MTS a temporary license for mobile telephony

02/ 02/ 2018 started the use of area code +383 12 12 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2 One of agreements which brought a lot of discussions is the introduction of area code for Kosovo. This agreement envisages that International telecommunication Union (hereinafter: ITU), in accordance with standards, principles and schedule of ITU provides an area code for Kosovo. Within these negotiations, the operators accepted the obligation to lower the expenses to a level of local call tariff. First deadline for finding a compromise solution for area code for Kosovo was December 2013, but later, the Action Plan from 2015 pushed this deadline to 15th August 2017. This Action Plan also has agreed for the Regulatory Agency for Postal and Electronic Communications of Kosovo (hereinafter: RAPEC) to devel- op a strategy of transfer and a new plan for numbering, until 15th May 2016, and also for operators to decrease the price of local calls before mid – March 2016. The regulatory bodies should, according to same Plan, agree and harmonize the use of radio-frequency range for mobile telephony before 15th April 2016.

We here, apparently, according to developments so far, have people who make very important decisions without having a clue who sits opposite of them

Focus Group Zvečan 2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 13 13 Results

The area code for Kosovo was requested by Republic of Austria from Internation- al Telecommunications Union (ITU) in the beginning of 2016, with the consent from Serbia received in december of same year. In fact, Kosovo cannot manage the number, since member of ITU are only the member states of United nations (UN). ITU granted Serbia pon 15th December 2016 the number +383 as a territory area code, which Serbia gives away to Kosovo for use (RAPEC is the sole admin- istrator), and this was confirmed in the Official Bulletin of the Union. At the same time, the Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications of Kosovo granted to MTS DOO, on 15th January 2016, the temporary license for mobile telephony (for period of 2 years) and the license for services of landline telephony (permanent license) in Kosovo. This meant fulfillment of agreements and deadlines set a month earlier during several days of meetings of negotiation teams in Bruxelles.

The area code for Kosovo started functioning on 2nd February 2018. For Kosovo operators VIP and VALA it means significant decrease of costs, because they will not have to pay anymore for use of area codes of other countries. Namely, until now the foreign area codes were in use, Monaco (377) and Slovenia (386) for mobile telephony, and the area code of Serbia (381) for the landline telephone network.

The price of call for citizens of the north of Kosovo will, for now, remain unchanged, but it is uncertain how will the calls be treated after the 2 year period expires. The calls will for now be treated same as inter - city calls in Serbia and they will not be billed as call between two countries, regardless of the fact that in order to establish a connection one must dial the area code of the territory. However, what is the biggest issue for citizens of Kosovo who live in Serbian majority communities and who use services of MTS DOO, is the potential possibility that, once the two year period expires, the calls to Serbia could be billed at higher roaming tariffs, unlike now.

Same as with Bruxelles negotiations in general, these Agreements were also accompanied by different interpretations of negotiators, along with negative reactions from oppositions, both from Belgrade and Pristina. Kosovo side saw the obtaining of the area code as strengthening of international subjectivity of Koso- vo; while the Serbian side emphasized that it is the area code for Serbian Auton- omous Province – Kosovo and Metohija, as a geographic region3. During the negotiations, Belgrade constantly referred to ITU Rules, while Pristina was seeking alternative route to obtain the area code through the international organization for alternative ways for regulation of communication sector, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)4.

3 http://www.kim.gov.rs/lat/v2213.php 4 http://kossev.info/strana/arhiva/kosovo_trazi_alternativne_nacine_za_pozivni_broj_i_in- ternet_domen___pomoci_ce_i_ambasade/4167 14 TELEKOMUNIKACIJE 2

Television Signal

AGREED DEADLINES RESULTS HARMONIZATION 15/ 04/ 2016. – November 2016 agreed OF THE RANGE FOR Harmonization of digital for a part of digital MOBILE TELEPHONY and analog specter. spatter to be reserved AND TELEVISION for media in Serbian SIGNAL. language, i.e. presence of Serbian operators HARMONIYATION OF for transmission of TV DIGITEL FREQUENCIES. signals.

The arrangement was made in Bruxelles for streamlining of use of the range for GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and TV signal, including digital aerial broadcasting, without coverage of the border/administrative boundary of other side with international signal, as well as harmonization of digital frequencies. The envisaged end date for this agreement was 15th April 2016. During several days of meetings in November 2016 in Bruxelles, it was agreed for one part of digital spectrum to be reserved for media in Serbian language, i.e. for presence of Serbian operators for broadcasting of television signal. 2 TELEKOMUNIKACIJE 15

Landline and Mobile Telephone Networks

AGREED DEADLINES RESULTS ESTABLISHMENT OF January 2015 – 12/ 10/ 2015 – COMPANY, BRANCH temporary license established company OFFICE OF SERBIAN should not expire before MTS DOO owned by COMPANY, ACCORDING this date Telekom Srbija AD TO KOSOVO LAWS, WHICH WILL OBTAIN 15/ 03/ 2016 – 16/ 12/ 2016 – MTS FULL LICENSE mutual contracts on doo obtains the FOR PROVISION interconnection of permanent license for OF SERVICES OF landline and mobile landline telephony LANDLINE TELEPHONY. operators and a temporary authorization for mobile telecommunications from RAEPK ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPANY WHICH WILL 06/ 01/ 2017 – started OBTAIN A TEMPORARY MTS signal of mobile LICENSE FOR CURRENT telephony for users in OPERATIONS OF Štrpce and Gračanica MOBILE TELEPHONY. 01. 05. 2017. - Telenor and ViP discontinued broadcasting of signal in Kosovo. 16 16 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2 With regard to landline and mobile telephony, it was agreed that a company shall be established, with a full license for provision of services of landline telephony and a temporary license for mobile telephony. It was planned for mobile telephony license to be issued at latest on 15th February 2016. Kosovo authorities will afterwards issue a new, full and unlimited license for mobile telephony which will be the outcome of a tender/auction in accordance with EU standards. The new envisaged deadlines for this license are: 13th October 2015 for registration of the new company, and March 2016 for joint contracts on interconnection of landline and mobile operators. The new company, for which the Serbian side pushed during negotiations, can’t start operations before RAEPC (Regulatory Agency for Electronic and Postal Communications of Kosovo) issues the authorization for provision of services of mobile telephony, for which the deadline envisaged in the contracts is 1st March 2016. The Agreement envisages that negotiations about a contract on interconnection between the new company and other authorized operators should be concluded until 15th March 2016. MTS DOO should have submitted the documentation for increase of capital and registration of im- movable property to Kosovo Agency for Registration of Businesses (hereinafter: ARBK) until 26th November 2016. The set deadline for approvals and registration by ARBK is 29th November 2016.

I am just afraid whether it will be possible to extend this deadline. So the Albanian side does not just say “You are in roaming”. Now, we are not in roaming, but if they don’t extend it, we will be in roaming (to Serbia)“

Focus group Zvečan 2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 17 Results

The company MTS DOO was registered in Kosovo Agency for Registration of Businesses on 12th October 2015, same day when the application was submitted for establishment of this limited liability company5. The owner of the company is Telekom Srbija AD Belgrade. Basic activity is wired, and secondary is wireless communications.

This company was entered into Register of Operators of Electronic Communi- cations on 16th December 2016, with issuance of permanent license for landline telecommunications, and temporary authorization for mobile telecommunications by the Regulatory Agency for Electronic and Postal Communications of Kosovo (RAEPC). The registration took place after the Decision of Government of Kosovo dated 15th December 2016, which should have entered into force once ITU issues the telephone area code for Kosovo (383). Both sides have fulfilled their parts of the deal, agreed a month earlier in Bruxelles, within the envisaged time frame.

The current Kosovo operators, Telecom of Kosovo/VALA and IPKO, had some objections to issuance of permits for the new telecommunication company. These operators state that operators from Serbia, MTS and Telenor, have had business operations in Kosovo for more than a decade, not paying due taxes, which brought millions of damage and loss for Kosovo Budget, unlike Kosovo operators who have worked in accordance with applicable rules.

The opposition in Serbia also has objections to establishment of the new company MTS DOO in Kosovo. In the first place the criticism goes towards registration and operations of the company according to Kosovo legislation. One of more serious consequences, in their opinion, is changing of citizenship of newly employed people in MTS DOO. Specifically, it is former employees of Tele- kom Srbija in Kosovo who had an obligation to sign a new employment contract with the new telecommunication company. In order to comply with Kosovo legislative framework in this area, can- My impression about didates must possess personal identification this whole mess around documents of Kosovo, which they can obtain mobile phones is that only if they are citizens of Kosovo. there is no more limit for As arguments against, they also stated prob- stomping over citizens’ lems that users of Telekom’s services have rights when they are paying the services in Ser- bia, like parking, bank statements, human- Focus Group Leposavić

5 Establishment of MTS doo at ARBK - http://arbk.rks-gov.net/page.aspx- ?id=3,38,38A0000051 18 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2 itarian SMSs, and alike. These services are not provided for them in Serbia before the end of so called migration period, which means until expiration of the temporary authorization for mobile communications that lasts two years. Until the end of the migration period, clients of MTS in Kosovo will use the system of double numbering, namely both numbers (0)47 and (06X) on the same SIM card. Number 06x will be the primary one until the end of migration period, and afterwards the primary number will be 047. It was agreed that MTS DOO reg- isters all its subscribers (SIM cards); both pre-paid and post-paid, with the option of extension, within three months after the issuance of temporary license. Serbia negotiators mention as a significant achievement the fact that they saved and kept the property of “Telekom Srbija” in Kosovo, which is transferred to the newly established enterprise MTS DOO. Actually, the Serbian side did not accept the agreement formulated by Kosovo in October 2016 that the property of Tele- kom Srbija was to be property of Kosovo. Transfer of property from Telekom Srbija to MTS DOO is determined by Point 11 of Conclusions of EU mediators in relation to telecommunications, from 13th November 2016. MTS DOO for now has four branch offices in Kosovo: North Mitrovica, Gračanica, Ranilug, Štrpce. Also, pursuant to agreements of 18th November 2016 – “Supple- ment to Conclusions”, MTS received 8 base stations in order to cover all enclaves in Kosovo, along with existing 22. The Serbian side, in the request for provision of additional base stations, referred to the Action Plan where it was stated that they are obliged to provide equal level of services for all its Kosovo subscribers. The new base stations were deployed throughout Kosovo, so in municipalities with Serbian majority now there is signal of mobile telephony, together with use of 2G, 3G and 4G technology. Telekom Srbija used to have 70 base stations, majority of which was destroyed. Also, around the end of 2016, RAEPC has issued to MTS 60,000 mobile and 74,000 landline numbers, as well as 30 locations for installation of antennas throughout Kosovo. At the Christmas Eve, on 6th January 2017, MTS signal of mobile telephony for clients in Brezovica and Štrpce was put in work. Around the end of March new base stations were activated, and from 5th May MTS has reactivated the signal for landline telephony in all communities with Serbian majority in central Kosovo. The signal in central Kosovo th If anything had depended has been discontinued form 26 September 2010. MTS DOO became the only Serbian on us they would have operator in Kosovo with a license for busi- undertaken some kind of ness operations in the territory of Kosovo, survey, research, public since Telenor and VIP Mobile discontinued opinion...“ their activities in Kosovo on 1st May 2017. The difference between these two operators is that VIP had informed their users about new

Focus group Leposavić 2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 19 conditions of service, which now runs through base stations of MTS DOO, while Telenor users who reside in Kosovo were depraved of services of their operator once the new telecommunication company started to work. During first days of operations of MTS DOO, users of Telenor network who travel from Serbia to Kosovo were totally without the mobile signal after crossing the border/administrative line. This was later regulated in such a way that all users of this network that are coming from Serbia have signal in all territory of Kosovo, and not only in four northern municipalities (which was the case earlier), but at roaming prices.

Problems in functioning of telephony in the north of Kosovo

Functioning of the mobile telephony in the north of Kosovo is still not completely regulated. Although the process of registration of users who had used post-paid services was concluded, within the company MTS DOO, the issue of pre-paid users is still not regulated. Citizens of Kosovo who use this type of service still buy top-ups in dinars. Another indication that the transfer of users from Telekom Srbija to MTS DOO is not yet finished is the fact that all users still receive network service SMS notifications about roaming tariffs in dinars when they travel abroad, while the new company is billing in Euros. Another indicator that the implementation of Bruxelles Agreement was devel- oping in anon-transparent manner is a number of problems that were encountered in this process. Even the employees of MTS DOO, who were until recently employed in Telekom Srbija, were not able to timely react to problems of users because they also were not familiar with further steps, so they were resolving problems along the process, as they appeared. For instance, users who were disconnected from mobile service due to delays in the process of registration, during the first days did not have information how to re-register after expiry of the deadline for re-registration. Citizens of north of Kosovo encountered first difficulties in functioning of mobile network already in first days, even before the process of re-registering in the new company. It was, first of all, not being able to use services that are usually regularly available via SMS (payment of parking in Serbia, participation in charity actions, checking the bank balance, etc.) One of problem that presents a difficulty for citizens is unclear record of payments of telecommunication services. In fact, it happens that users get disconnected from the mobile network even though they have paid all bills, while to some other users it happened not to be disconnected with two or more unpaid bills in a row. These difficulties usually happened to citizens who were paying for services via electronic means of payment. Reconnecting, even though is not a consequence of any fault 20 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2 from the side of client, was at client expense, and it costs two Euros. Some citizens had to pay for four times for their telephone to be reconnected. There are problems even after the change of currency for payment, because older citizens who receive pensions from Serbia, and also all those who work in Serbian institutions6, have a problem with payment of telecommunication services since their income is in dinars, which means that they have to go and change dinars into Euro in order to pay for telephone bill. It this way they also have to pay expenses for currency conversion. During the transfer and re-registration from Telekom Srbija to MTS DOO it was necessary for citizens to have a Kosovo issued ID. In this case an exception was made, so the re-registration was possible, with a promise that the client who doesn’t have this document will submit it within 60 days. However, so far there was no insisting on this issue since there is a large number of citizens who are not able to realize their right to personal documents in accordance with laws of Kosovo7.

Group for Implementation of the Agreement

Within the talks about telecommunications it was agreed to establish a group for implementation of this agreement, and if necessary, it will be done with support of European Union (EU). The purpose of establishment of this group is drafting of Action Plan for implementation of the agreement. In the Action Plan from 2015 it was agreed that the drafting of the full plan shall be realized until 29th June, and it will be approved by 15th October 2017. The deadline for establishment of three working sub-groups was 15th January 2016.

Results

The Action Plan for implementation of the agreement from 2013 was approved on 25th August 2015. It specifies activities from previous agreements and sets deadlines for their implementation. There is no information about drafting a full Action Plan and forming of working sub-groups – regulatory bodies, operators, and postal services.

6 What future is awaiting for us, public institutions of Republic of Serbia in the north of Kosovo – Institute for territorial economic development (InTER): http://www.lokalnirazvoj.org/ upload/Publication/Documents/2017_08/Javne_institucije_i_ustanove_Republike_Srbije_na_seve- ru_Kosova.pdf 7 Access to documents in Kosovo / the main obstacle in integration of non-majority communities in Kosovo, AKTIV: http://www.ngoaktiv.org/uploads/files/Pristup_li%C4%8Dnim_i_put- nim_dokumentima%20(1).pdf ENERGY 3 22 ENERGY 3

irst negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina on topic of energy started in 2011, when leaders of technical negotiation teams were Borislav Stefanović and EditaTahiri. Six years later, there is no significant progress in this field. As it is the case with other agreements within Bruxelles negotiations, this one is also accompanied with lack of transparency and Fdifferent interpretations from negotiators from both Pristina and Belgrade. The one thong negotiators agree about is the opinion that the main obstacle in implementation of the agreement is the failure to establish two companies: EPS Trgovina (Trade) and Elektrosever (ElectroNorth) which should be in charge of distribution and charging of electricity in the north of Kosovo. Serbian negotiators point out that Pristina did not fulfill the accepted obligation of establishment of these companies, while Kosovo authorities claimed that Serbia refuses to put the sentence in Statutes of these companies that says that the companies perform their activities in the territory of state of Kosovo, even though the agreements envisage complying with Kosovo legislation. Unlike the agreement on telecommunications, the area of energy presents much bigger challenge since it is about more complex infrastructure network and the accompanying maintenance system.

In relation to the price, the quality is great

Roundtable Zvečan 3 ENERGY 23 State of Play in the Field of Energy in the North of Kosovo

“Elektroprivreda Srbije” from year 1999 does not manage electro-energetic and mining capacities in the territory of Kosovo8, where the consisting part is also Elektrokosmet, the company that serves bills to citizens of northern Kosovo for the electricity they spend. This company is serving bills to citizens of Leposavić, North Mitrovica and Zubin Potok. Te Municipality of Zvečan was exempt from this system, and for electricity supply here in charge is Mining and metallurgy and Chemistry Company Trepča, whose letterhead and emblem are on the bills for the electricity.

Majority of citizens of north of Kosovo from 1999, due to legal vacuum, does not pay their dues for the electricity they spend. According to a research undertaken in 2016 by Radio Mir and Team for Social Researches, more than half of survey participants have debt for electricity older than three years. On the other hand, every tenth responder stated that their household had paid all dues for this service. The same share of respondents has a debt that is old less than one year.

Electricity Payment

Do you pay your electricity bill regularly?

No, it is unpaid for Reasons for non-payment of the bill 51.8 more than three years  41,2% Lack of money No, it is unpaid for less  43,9% Price of the service is too high 11.8 than three years  33,4% Price of the service is too high compared to the quality No, it is unpaid for 15.7  more than a year 29,6% I am not satisfied with the service provided  38,0% I am aware I shall not be sanctioned No, it is unpaid for less 10.0  60,6% Vast majority doesn’t pay than a year

Yes, it is all paid 10.4

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0

Generally, the most common reason for not paying electricity bills is a result of the attitude of users that practice of not paying is not unethical, but there is a belief that not paying will not be condemned by the majority of citizens, nor even will the Electrodistribution company neither initiate a court proceeding for execution of payment, nor cut the supply. Along with the impunity and informal

8 Elektroprivreda Srbije website: http://eps.rs/Pages/Ogranci.aspx 24 ENERGY 3 acceptance of not paying in the community, there is another group of reasons that could be described as dissatisfaction with the service or its price, or dissatisfaction with the ratio of price versus quality.

Readiness to Pay

If the company remained under the authority of 58.7 the Government of Serbia

If asked and knew how is the money spent at 25.8 the level of the electricity company

If you knew how the money is spent at the level of the electricity Company/Financial 32.1 Transparency

If that was the way to enhance the electricity 40.0 supply system in your municipality

If that was the condition to receive this service in 53.5 the future

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0

With regard to supply of electricity, in the survey from 2017, as key problems citizens have confirmed the opinions from previous survey: poor and outdated electrical network, especially in rural areas, poor public lighting, and still very frequent power cuts. Positive changes in the area of electricity supply mentioned by respondents are only less frequent power cuts.

Problems in Electricity Supply

Bad quality and outdated power grid in villages 22.1

Inadequate Maintenance of the street lighting 19.5 (bulb replacements, repairs) Public Lighting does not cover all streets in the 26.0 neighbourhood

Bad Quality and Outdated Power Grid 36.5

Slow Repairs 11.4

Frequent Failures in the Power Grid 6.7

Frequent Power Cuts 5.2

Citizens opinions from 2016

3 ENERGY 25 While for citizens of northern Kosovo the bills come from PE Elektrokosmet and Trepča, which the majority of people is not paying, for citizens south of Ibar River, including municipalities with majority Serbian population, bills come from KEDS, and they have the obligation to pay the dues regularly. With the aim to change the situation in the north of Kosovo with regard to payment of electricity bills, the Government of Serbia issued a Decision on forming of Working Group for establishment of a system for charging and billing for sup- plied electricity, and the decision entered into force on 31th October 2015. Also, in February 2015, the PE Elektrokosmet undertake an action, where the company delivered to citizens of northern Kosovo bills with notification and warning about disconnecting, together with the amount owed for electricity for period from 1st December 2102 to 31st December 2014, and a payment deadline 4th March 2015. This action was stopped without explanation. There were also call for citizens from Elektrokosmet to legalize connection to electricity grid of EPS, under more favorable conditions before certain date, but this also did not have a response. Having in mind the note from Elektroprivreda Srbije that this enterprise does not manage the energy system and mines in the territory of Kosovo9, there is unclear competence over this system in the territory of northern Kosovo. On the other side, those in charge for energy system within the auspices of Kosovo legislation claim that all the loses from unpaid electricity in the north are paid by clients from other parts of Kosovo who regularly pay their bills for the consumption of electricity10. The north of Kosovo gets the electric energy from the transmission line of Koso- vo power plants, and partly from Serbia, through Novi Pazar.

9 Elektroprivreda Srbije website: http://eps.rs/Pages/Ogranci.aspx 10 Report of RSE on electric energy: https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/struja-kosovo-sever- trosi-jug-placa/28531788.html 26 ENERGY 3 Development of Negotiations About Energy

The Bruxelles Agreement on normalization of relations from April 2013 did not envisage specific solutions in the area o energy, except that was pointed out that the talks on this topic will intensify, and the timeline for conclusion of these negotiations was 15th June of same year11. First concrete agreements between delegations of Belgrade and Pristina were reached on 8th September 2013 through the Arrange- ment on Energy. This arrangement should have resolved the issue of distribution and billing of electricity in municipalities of Northern Mitrovica, Zvečan, Zubin Potok and Leposavić. In accordance with this, establishment of companies „EPS Trgovina“(EPS Trade) and „Elektrosever“ (ElectroNorth) was agreed.

It is important to note that each party in the second phase of negotiations on energy stated that they consider the property in the territory of Kosovo to be in their respective ownership. The property issues have been left aside, which opened new stumbling in the negotiations, having in mind that the issue of energy can’t be resolved without resolution of the issue of ownership.

The Bruxelles agreements on energy from September 2013 and signing of Conclu- sions of EU Mediators on implementation of arrangements on energy from 25th August 2015 was an attempt to regulate the area of distribution and supply of electric energy. Although, in the meantime there were framework Agreements about cooperation between operators of transmission system and market of electric energy of Kosovo (KOSST) I have and Electro Network of Serbia (EMS) signed in nowhere to Wien on 12th February 2014. One of important get informed. I look points of this agreement was demarcation through social networks, of electrical boundary between the two st 12 local media. I used to see systems, starting from 1 January 2015 . some titles concerning that agreement. All I see is just In October 2015, KOSST has signed newspaper titles. I see that the Connection Agreement with 29 op- they have talked about it. erators of ENTSO “with condition But, there is nothing more that company „Elektrosever” previ- than that. That is all we hear Focus Group North Mitrovica

11 Office for Kosovo and Metohija, First agreement on principles that regulate normalization: http://www.kim.gov.rs/p03.php 12 http://www.kostt.com/website/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=783%3A18-sep- tembar-2014-potpisan-operativni-sporazum-izmeu-operatora-prenosnog-sistema-kosova-kostt-i-srbije-ems-&catid=45%3Akomunikata-srb&Itemid=28&lang=sr 3 ENERGY 27 ously obtains the license for supplying electricity and to become functional”13. From the aspect of citizens from four municipalities in the north of Kosovo, the developments of negotiations so far, as well as their content, are something totally unknown. Beside the general knowledge about this area being a part of negotiations, majority of citizens have no other information. Information is mainly obtained in an informal manner, through informal conversations or conversations with people employed in energy production or distribution sectors, or through media.

Establishment of new companies

The consent for establishment of “EPS Trgovina” (EPS Trade) in North Mitrovica was given by the Government of Serbia on 30th October 2014.14 The commercial activity of this company is related to trade of electric energy. Also, in accordance with energy agreements from 2013, the company “ElektrodistribucijaSever” (Electrodistribution North) LTD Zubin Potok was established on 19th November 2014, as a company for energy services15. It was established by Municipal Assem- bly of Zubin Potok, which is in accordance with Kosovo Law on Self Government, which states that a municipality can be owner or co-owner of a company. The purpose of establishment of this company was to provide citizens in the north of Kosovo with possibility to conclude a contract with “ElektrodistribucijaSever”, nor have they obtained work licenses, as it is the case also with the company “Elektrosever” (ElektroNorth) in North Mitrovica, for establishment of which the Government of Serbia has also issued its consent on 4th September 2015.

Applications for registration of “EPS Trgovina” and “Elektrosever”, as subsidiaries of Elektroprivreda Srbije and limited liability companies in Kosovo, were rejected first time in October 2015. Kosovo institutions stated as a reason for refusal that the applications were not in accordance with Kosovo laws and agreements on energy. Among other things, it was stated that the applications used “provocative language”, such as “Kosovo and Metohija”, as well as that it is about limited liability companies, instead of company branches. Kosovo has sent instructions for review also to European Union as the mediator in the negotiations, from where later a negotiation request arrived for Chapter 35, and that it is needed to establish “Elektrosever” in accordance with Kosovo legislation.

13 Progress Report on dialog of Belgrade and Pristina for period October 2015 – April 2016, Government of RS, Chapter 4 – Energy, available at: http://www.kim.gov.rs/doc/pregovaracki-proces/1.1%20Izvestaj%20okt-mart%20%202016%20SR.pdf 14 http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/13/ekonomija/2028114/eps-predao-zahteve-za- registraciju-firmi-na-kosovu.html 15 http://kossev.info/strana/arhiva/__quotelektrodistribucija_sever__quot_doo_zubin_po- tok_osnovana_danas_u_ovoj_opstini/2904 28 ENERGY 3 The Government of Serbia rejected this request, since the document by which EPS establishes an enterprise in accordance with Kosovo laws in unconstitution- al. The agreements envisaged that for owner of the supply company to be Association of Serbian Municipalities, It is true but since ASM still has not been formed, Elektro- that we do privreda Srbije was named the owner. Applica- not know what the tions were submitted and rejected another two next steps are. What all times, and as reasons were stated technical this entails; if the topic is deficiencies.16 The application from 25th Feb- energy, the there would ruary 2016 was rejected because of listing not be problems if we of commercial activities along with entered knew who is paying codes for these activities, as well as because it was not harmonized with Kosovo legislation. and to whom it is being paid Focus group Zubin Potok

Most stumbling during the first phase of negotiations on energy concerned the suggestion of Serbia related to establishment of the new company which would replace EPS, but it would keep the role of supplier in the north of Kosovo and for Serbian populated areas. Kosovo had agreed to establishment of the new company, but its role was to come down to collecting on its own bills, while It was pointed out then that the other companies for electricity supply will be provided with possibility to start operating in Kosovo after the opening of general energy market in January 2015. This meant that for new Serbian companies in the area of energy there will be no restriction of operations only to the north, but all citizens of Kosovo will have the possibility and option to be users of their services.

Since “ElektrodistribucijaSever” is still not registered by Kosovo Agency for Reg- istration of Businesses (ABRK) within the Ministry of Economy of Kosovo, nor has it obtained the license from Kosovo Energy Regulator Office (ERO), this company still does not issue electricity bills in the north of Kosovo.

Most recent official data concerning implementation of agreements on energy are available in the report of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, and it points to new rejection of the application for registration of companies submitted on 26th May 2017, again because the documentation being “incomplete and not in accordance with Kosovo laws and Bruxelles Agreement”.

16 Progress Report on dialog between Belgrade and Pristina for period October 2015 – April 2016, Government of RS, Chapter 4 – Energy 3 ENERGY 29 In justification of reasons for rejection as unclear, Serbian side submitted a request to ABRK for review of the decision on rejection of applications for registration of energy companies. Since there was no answer to the request within the legitimate time period, Serbian side filed to Ministry of Trade and Industry an appeal against the act that rejects requests for registration, and also a law suit to Administrative Court in Pristina. After more than 4 months after the submission of the appeal/suit, on 19th October an Urgency letter was submitted to Court in Pristina, which requests written information on the status of this procedure.17

Due to above stated, the Agreement on connecting of EMS and KOSTT within the organization of European Network of Transmission Systems Operators for electric energy (ENTSO-E), also called Connection Agreement (CA) still has not entered into force.

Serbian negotiator considers that EU mediators should undertake necessary measures to find solution for registration of companies and issuance of licenses for their work.

17 Office for K&M, Progress report for dialog of Belgrade and Pristina, October 2016 - April 2017: http://www.kim.gov.rs/doc/Izvestaj%20oktobar%20april%202017%20pdf.pdf CONCLUSION 4 32 CONCLUSION 4 Telecommunications

Telecommunications are one of key points of Bruxelles Agreement. Both Ser- bian and Kosovo sides have accepted the obligation to intensify talks on this area, which can be seen on the ground, because the implementation of what was agreed is ongoing. However, citizens were not informed on time about what the agreements from this area entail. This has resumed also during the continuation of implementation of this agreement. Citizens in Focus groups pointed out that what was lacking in this process is information campaign, and they expressed concern about future processes. The thing that worries client of MTS DOO the most is the possibility that, in one moment the billing starts with tariffs for calls for Serbia as for international calls, which would significantly increase expenses for telephone services.

It should be mentioned that there are scarce available data in the field of telecommunications in negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina. Dialogs took place in Bruxelles, and press releases have been published only after several days of meetings. The development of the negotiations was not followed. The information mostly got to the public through statements of the officials about agreements reached, which were not so seldom contradictory. Reports of Government of Serbia, i.e. the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, as well as office for coordina- tion affairs in the negotiation process with institutions in Pristina, from this area are very poor. European Commission’s Progress report on Serbia in negotiations with EU, for Chapter 35 – Normalization of relations between Serbia and Koso- vo, does not deal with specific activities that both sides undertake in the area of energy and telecommunications, it rather gives only general assessments. This goes in favor of conclusions of precious surveys, which also talk about lack of transparency with regard to implementation of Bruxelles Agreement.

The determined deadlines were mostly not respected. Also, there were no priori- ties in negotiations. Some of essential issues, such as ownership of property, got on the agenda only after opening of some less important issues. Media reporting about negotiations is not beneficial for clarification of complex procedures and what does it mean for citizens. The focus is on technical aspects of the agreement, so it is mere listing of agreement points, without any deeper research ma- terial.

Complaints of citizens of Kosovo, since it is quality of their life this is all about, are talking about slowness and clumsiness of the whole process. The most trivial issues, like freedom of communication, remain open. The fact is that in these segments of negotiations there is obvious lack of opinion from those who live in the territory of Kosovo, which leads us to the conclusion that this process became non-participative and therefore is not legitimate. The interest of citizens is only on the second place, after the higher political interests. 4 CONCLUSION 33 Energy

Implementation of the agreement on energy, in comparison with telecommunications, may encounter much bigger challenges due to the innate complexity of this sector. For now, there are still preconditions missing for realization. This includes reconstruction of electric grid which is outdated, as well as regulation of the situation with illegal connections on the grid, having in mind the fact that in last 19 years (from 1999 to 2018) there was no control in this area. One of biggest challenges will also be establishment of collecting payments for bills for electricity, which is mostly not being paid by users from North Mitrovica, Zvečan, Zubin Potok and Leposavić. On the other hand, Kosovo authorities are requesting payment of dues based on loses in the energy system in the north of Kosovo, because of nonpayment of bills in four municipalities. Even though households receive bills from company Elektrokosmet for electricity they spent, citizens themselves have doubts about competences of this company. This is somewhat justified, tak- ing in consideration the fact that Elektroprivreda Srbije also distances itself from competence in the territory of Kosovo when it comes to energy system. The issue of ownership is another point of stumbling between negotiators from Belgrade and Pristina, since during negotiations on topic of energy this question had been left aside. Absence of transparency of the agreement and no public debates between key actors, along with poor information of citizens, experts, civil society and academic community, only aggravates the confusion about the perspective in the area of energy. People who are employed in units of Elektrokosmet in the north of Kosovo refuse to talk on this topic with researches and media, which closes the space for their problems in work and in the process of Bruxelles agreement to be bought out in the public. There are very few available data from the area of energy, and from negotiators from Belgrade and Pristina one can hear different interpretations of the same agreements. From everything that is stated above, a conclusion could be drawn that there still are no basic conditions for implementation of the energy agreement. It is just another political agreement with no solid ground in the practice. There should be some lessons learned from experiences and mistakes during implementation of the agreement on telecommunications in order to avoid their repetition in the coming period. If we take in consideration the complexity of the area of energy In comparison to telecommunications, then similar mistakes must not be repeated, because it would produce much bigger problems in practice than it is the case until now. RECOMMENDATIONS 5 36 RECOMMENDATIONS 5 General Recommendations

• Conduct information campaigns about implementation of agreements on telecommunications and energy;

• Representatives of the companies for telecommunications and supply of electricity should, along with issued bills, announce changes in conditions of business operations, with detailed explanations of those changes concerning citizens;

• It is necessary to work more intensively on reaching the solution for property issue within Bruxelles negotiations,

• Define rights of people employed in Elektroprivreda Srbije and conditions for transfer into companies EPS Trgovina and Elektrosever.

Telecommunications

• Achieve continuity in quality and prices of services of telecommunications operator MTS DOO after the licensing period, with retaining of the right to communication within MTS network equal with service users in Serbia;

Energy

• Regulate infrastructure problems in the electric network (outdated meters to be replaced with new ones, introduce meters in households that do not have any, i.e. legalize illegal connections);

• Prepare the wider public for starting of collecting payments for delivered electricity in the north of Kosovo through use of available channels of communication;

• On establishment of billing and collecting in the north of Kosovo, sign off the old debts and start from “zero” point of billing. 5 RECOMMENDATIONS 37 Recommendations for citizens

• Increase participation of citizens in public activities related to agreements on energy and communications;

• It is necessary to have bigger interest and activism from citizens with regard to implementation of these agreements;

• Citizens should make more use of available channels for communication with decision makers;

• Increase level of communication of citizens with media and Non-govern- mental sector, who can better articulate their attitudes and make them available to wider public. 38

Literature

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