KDI: Parliamentary commissions conclude Serbia has not implemented most agreements

The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), in co-operation with the Parliamentary Commission for Foreign Affairs, Diaspores and Strategic Investments, held the fourth co-ordination meeting, Kosovo Assembly Parliamentary Commissions, about the monitoring role and overseer of the Assembly in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue process.

This meeting discussed the work that parliamentary commissions have conducted in the work of monitoring the implementation of agreements coming out of the dialogue process, including the findings, achievements and challenges in implementing these agreements, which are also recorded in this year's Government Report on the issue.

The head of the Commission for Foreign Affairs, Vjosa Osmani, at the start of the meeting requested that the question of dialogue be given importance, including various supervisory activities of this process, at the working plans of 2019. It presented a draft of the agreements that should be monitored by relevant commissions, based on their field activity. According to her, because of the assessment the Commission for Foreign Affairs has made to the Government's Report on Challenges and Arriments in implementing the Brussels Accords, it turns out that Serbia has not implemented nearly two-thirds of the agreements reached so far, in contrast with the Kosovo side, which has shown willingness and commitment, implementing almost all the agreements.

Life Krasniqi from the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) explained that KDI for more than two years has offered constant support to the Kosovo Assembly, commissions and parliamentary groups, concerning the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue process. Praising the work the Parliamentary Parliamentary Commissions have done during 2018, she expressed that parliamentary commissions can play a much more effective and pro-active role in exercising the supervisory position in relation to the dialogue process.

During the meeting, the question of new developments in dialogue was raised by MP Muharrem Nitaj, respectively, on the new Kosovo Parliament's resolution on the final phase of the dialogue, which envisions, the establishment of the Commission for Monitoring Dialogue, adding that the future of already reached under this process remains to be seen. On the other hand, MP Driton Selmanaj criticised this approach, praising it as illegal, since the new resolution attempts to exclude the monitoring activity of parliamentary commissions, which are ahead in the Kosovo Parliament's Work Code.

Next, the chairmans and heads of parliamentary commissions reported on supervisory activities that the relevant commissions have undertaken since the last co-ordination meeting, in terms of the dialogue process. Some of the agreements that were reported by the parliamentary commissions were the Justice Agreement, the Energy Agreement, the Agreement for Development Funds, the Serbian Majorisation Agreement, the Integrated Bridge Management Agreement on the Iber River, the Energy Agreement, the Energy Agreement, the Convention for the North Development Fund, the Agreement for the so-called Civil Movement Agreement, Integrated Border Management (IBM), the Customs Treaty, the Nationalal Protection Agreement, the Agreement for the so-called Civil Framework Framework Agreement, the Co-operation Agreement, the Co-operation, the Co-operation Agreements, the Co-operation Agreements, and other Civil Accords.

All commissions identified numerous challenges in implementing specific agreements, mainly because of Serbia's construction and unwillingness to implement. It was declared that one of the agreements that is being implemented at satisfactory levels is that for pharmaceutical products and equipment, under which 123 Serbian pharmaceutical products have been registered, which have accepted Kosovo's power laws.

During the discussions, the COSTT membership issue at NTSO-E was mentioned, which was said to have been deliberately failed by the Kosovo side, since the agreement proposed by the ENTSO-E envisioned the deployment of Kosovo's energy border to Weyman Lake, leaving the latter under Serbia's state management and energy control.

The chairmen and heads of parliamentary commissions agreed that the commissions will submit written reports concerning monitoring the implementation of specific agreements from the process of dialogue, and that the same should be discussed in this form of the meeting. Similarly, parliamentary commissions agreed to request written reports from institutions and other agencies responsible for implementing the agreements, while the same become part of the review report of this meeting, aimed at increasing co-ordination among parliamentary commissions on monitoring the dialogue process.
The need for increased care was also identified at this meeting, especially in the integration of persons with criminal backgrounds into Kosovo's justice system and police, due to doubts that the same were involved in crimes committed during the war period in Kosovo.

Parliamentary commissions agreed that over the next year, depending on the new developments under the dialogue process, to continue co-operation between them, holding even joint meetings, during cases when [the issues that concern Kosovo-Serbia dialogue] are discussed.

Meetings between parliamentary commissions aim to provide a platform of discussion, co-ordination and agreement between the commissions about their role in the Kosovo dialogue process -- Serbia, bilateral co-operation in monitoring, monitoring, participation and advancing transparency of this process, based on Kosovo Assembly resolutions.

This task has been developed within the “projectEuropean Perspective: Building National consensus for normalisation of relations with SerbiaThe” that is supported by the Swiss Embassy in Pristina, and the Memorandum of Understanding with the Kosovo Parliament.