Bajrami: Association in no way has executive competence

Formation of the Association or community of Serb majority municipalities is an international obligation for Kosovo, and now this issue is rather technical, because the limits of its establishment are determined by the act of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, the experts on constitutional legal affairs and connoisseurs of developments within dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo in Brussels.

Manager team For drafting the Association statute, it has already started work and after the completion of this process, the Constitutional Court will again have the final say if the document is in line with Kosovo's laws and Constitution.

But what would that look like? Associationbased on the laws and Constitution of Kosovo?
Constitutional Law Professor Arsim Bajrami, who holds the position of PDK deputy chairman, who has been a member of the Commission to draft the Constitution of Kosovo, speaking of Radio Free Europe, says that the Association of Serb majority municipalities should by no means be established as the executive structure of power and should be entirely within the framework of the constitutional system of the Republic of Kosovo and the legislation on local power.

“is very important that you firmly determine the Association statute The Powers of Association dealing mainly with co-ordinating municipal policies among Serb majority municipalities. At the same time, the monitoring levels should be assigned, so three levels of”.

The first “Nivel, of course, should be the Government of Kosovo, which must bring the decree to establish association. The second level should be the Ministry of Local Power, which even under current duty monitors municipalities. The third level, of course, should be the Constitutional Court, which has the power to annul any act or the anti-unconstitutional decision of this” mechanism, notes Professor Bajrami.

Life Krasniqi, analyst of the Kosovo Democratic Institute, this non-governmental organisation, which has supervised the development of Brussels' dialogue and its results, tells Radio Free Europe, that based on Kosovo's laws and the Kosovo Constitutional Court decision, the association would have to look like any other non-governmental organisation that functions within Kosovo's unitary state system and in line with its laws and constitution.

The “should look like any other NGO that functions in the state of Kosovo, without executive competence. So without having the powers for supervision in education, in health, in economic development, in co-ordinating urban or rural planning, without the right to initiate procedures at the Constitutional Court. Also, without the right to carry competencies from the central level, without being an executive-powered structure representing 10 municipalities. These are all elements, which are before even the agreement, which the Constitutional Court has rejected”, Krasniqi says.

However, Kosovo Serb political representatives already, but even Serbia authorities They have shown disagreement that the Association does not have executive competencies and that it would be in line with the Kosovo Constitutional Court's decision, regardless of whether in the Brussels Agreement on Association, it is pre-arranged for this court to say the last word.

Professor Bajrami says one Such position of Serbia He's understanding. But, as he says, it is the responsibility of Kosovo's political leadership not to make any concessions in this direction, as well as Brussels' responsibility to respect the Kosovo Constitutional Court decision.

Serbia has ambitions that through Association, to also find an alibi and present it before the internal opinion that it has defended Serbian interest, establishing the Serb municipal community and that is Serbia's already known project. But Kosovo no longer has the chance to enter other new arrangements, which would imply any compromise. I think it's important that Kosovo carry out its obligations and be active in establishing this association. Then, it is the international community's responsibility to condition Serbia with European integration processes”, explains Professor Bajrami.

But, analyst Krasniqi stresses that negotiations within dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia are political and forming association is one of Bigger compromises.

“Having in mind that we could come to a moment that the Serb community does not accept an association that has no executive competence, the Kosovar side should in no way allow an executive competence to be formed. This, because it should not be violated in any way the unitary system of Kosovo. These are political talks, absolutely. It is negotiations, but should not go beyond compromises, which affect the unitary system of Kosovo and which can affect the very functioning of the state of Kosovo”, Krasniqi says.

However, officials from the Government of Serbia have earlier stressed that Kosovo authorities “want to form the Community, which would look like something empty”.
But Kosovo authorities have repeatedly repeated the position that association will only be formed according to the Constitutional Court's verdict.