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Kosovo: What could be the model of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority?

2023-05-09 20:30:31, Kosova & Bota CNA

Kosovo: What could be the model of the Association of municipalities with a

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia, Gordan Grlic Radman, said on Tuesday that his country supports any agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, while underlining that the Croatian model for dealing with the rights of national minorities can serve as a model for Kosovo as well.

He made these comments during a visit to Pristina where he is meeting with leaders of institutions, in a period of discussions about the rights of the Serbian community in Kosovo and disagreements about the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.

A week ago, the management team for the drafting of the statute for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities presented its first draft during the high-level political talks between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, rejected the draft statute, which he described as incompatible with the constitution and laws of Kosovo, but also with European values. He said that he proposed a draft view of how the values ??and principles governing the issue of minority communities in Kosovo should be, being inspired, as he said, by an agreement on the normalization of relations between Serbia and Croatia.

The head of Croatian diplomacy, Gordan Grlic Radman, said that his country's model was successful, but there are many models in the world that can be used. In Croatia, he said, the rights of minorities are protected and it can be a very good example, while underlining that Zagreb supports any approach aimed at an agreement with which Kosovo and Serbia are satisfied.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, Donika Gërvalla, said that Kosovo has reviewed models for the protection of minorities that were presented by the European mediator of talks with Serbia, Miroslav Lajçak, underlining that the Constitution of Kosovo offers minorities much more rights than like all other models.

"Therefore, we have dealt with models, we have seen what they are, which for us do not come into expression because they violate the red lines that we have in this dialogue. No type of formation, no type of Association, no type of mechanism can be implemented in Kosovo if it first violates the sovereignty of the country, secondly the Constitution of the country and thirdly the functionality of the Republic of Kosovo because these three elements are the basis for the functioning of the state. What we have seen in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the Republika Srpska installed there is a complete blockage of the functioning of the state. It is not going to happen in the Republic of Kosovo. This region has enough of one Serbian Republic and does not need a second one", said Ms. Gërvalla.

Kosovo and Serbia agreed in 2013 on the establishment of the Association, while in August 2015 on its principles. That same year, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that a large part of these principles are in conflict with the Constitution of Kosovo. The implementation of the agreement on the Association continues to remain the main challenge for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia and the return of Serbian employees to the institutions that abandoned them in November last year.

"They (Kosovo) will either accept what we agreed on in 2015, or it will be the end of everything," said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic after the May 2 meeting in Brussels with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

The President of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Lumir Abdixhiku, said that the draft charter document, drawn up by the Management Team, is more than an Association and more than Autonomy, it is a state within a state. He wrote on social networks that "a body that enacts laws, manages national assets, public wealth and natural resources, a body that organizes elections, holds referendums and receives powers from the Assembly and the Government of Kosovo - has no place in our state and constitutional arrangement . As such, it should not only be rejected as a negotiating basis, but also rejected as a political ambition," he wrote, underlining that in Kosovo there will be no party, no government and no one who can accept it. such an organization.

The government of Kosovo decided to dissolve the management team, prompting the reaction of Belgrade, which accuses Pristina of not fulfilling the agreements.

European Union officials say that the first draft presented by the management team for the Association's statute is not final, but "is an important starting point for future discussions at the level of chief negotiators".

The establishment of the Association is foreseen with the agreement reached in Ohrid on March 18 between Kosovo and Serbia on the way to implement an agreement supported by the West for the normalization of relations between them. It also foresees the fulfillment of all agreements previously reached in talks mediated by the European Union.

The American envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said last week that the implementation of this agreement begins with the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo.

Mr. Escobar said that the solution should be sought in a compromise between the parties and the statute of the association "must be a negotiated statute that protects the rights of the Serbian minority in Kosovo. Our expectations and aspirations are clear and high and our support for the parties to reach an advanced position is clear," he said.

The Ohrid Agreement requires good neighborly relations between Kosovo and Serbia, recognition of documents and symbols and respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It requires that the parties do not hinder each other in the integration processes, but does not require mutual recognition./ VOA





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