Moving ahead with a plan to take full control of the once-mighty Trepca complex of lead, zinc and silver mines, Kosovo has locked horns with former master Serbia over the fate of an industrial icon claimed by both.
On February 6, the speaker of Kosovo’s parliament, Kadri Veseli, signed into law a decision by lawmakers to adopt the Statute of Trepca, the latest step in a years-long effort to take full control of the mines, which straddle the young country’s ethnic divide.
Serbia has vowed to resist the move, while the European Union has said ownership of Trepca should be part of a binding agreement under negotiation in Brussels and designed to settle relations between Serbia and its former southern province, which declared independence in 2008.
The Statute gives the green light to transform Trepca from a state-owned company into a joint stock company, 80 per cent held by the government and 20 per cent by its workers.
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