Delay and division in the Parliament over the question of dialogue during 2018

Parliamentary oversight of the dialogue process has not been sufficiently exercised on the part of MPs, as they during the Kosovo Assembly hearings have presented only 9 parliamentary questions related to dialogue -- out of a total of 275 -- how much has been put forward in general.

So said today during a discussion table on “how to become more effective parliamentary supervision of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue?”, with what happens to the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), has published the report on how the Kosovo Parliament addressed the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue during 2018.

Violet Hajoli from KDI, during the presentation of key findings in this report, stressed that the issues of the Parliament dialogue were addressed at more sessions during the autumn session, while during the spring session dialogue was discussed mainly at the framework of the parliamentary committee meetings.

The dialogue process during the first half of the year has developed at a technical level where the focus of MPs has been monitoring the implementation of agreements, and discussions on who should lead this process.

While, in the second half of the year, due to political developments, the focus has been on the topic of border correction and the state delegation, which highlighted the divisions among parliamentary parties”, has positioned Hajolli.

She added that the Kosovo Assembly deputies have discussed dialogue on 21 out of 42 sessions held during 2018, in which the most discussed topics were: the idea of border correction, the new phase of dialogue, the negotiating team, 100% tax, undiscovered persons, and implementation of the Energy Agreement.

As for parliamentary supervision of the dialogue process, Hajoli points out that this post has not been properly exercised by MPs, who have presented only 9 parliamentary questions related to dialogue -- out of a total of 275 -- as far as they have been put forward in general, and have initiated only one appellation, out of 12 soos -- in general.

In relation to parliamentary debates, as another mechanism for monitoring the process of dialogue, she indicated that only three parliamentary debates have been initiated.

Moreover, three resolutions such as that of normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia have also been adopted, people not found, and the Kosovo government's separate means for energy spent in the country's north.

However, the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue has directly influenced the work and operation of the Assembly. The different views of subjects on the future of this process influenced the deepening divisions between position and opposition. This coincided with the installation of boycott practices and the quorum needed for the development of the Parliament's work was unable.

Hajolli, speaking of the work of parliamentary commissions in relation to the dialogue process, announced that the topics related to dialogue have been raised to 10% of the meetings held by parliamentary commissions.

The most controversial topics were the implementation of so-called agreements, the lobbie of Serbia against Kosovo, the visits of Serbian officials to Kosovo, and the fate of missing persons.

The Parliament's work for 2018 was completed with the adoption of Resolution on the dialogue process for normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia on December 15th, which was voted by 59 MPs, unlike citizens' expectations for broad political delegations, released by KDI polls.

On the other hand, MPs present from the position and opposition estimated that the Assembly has played a relatively good role in addressing the question of dialogue.

They stressed the need for achieving a political spectrum consensus regarding the question of dialogue and agreed that the Parliament should continue to play its supervisory role in the new phase of dialogue.

Otherwise, this meeting has been realised under the project “European Perspective ʹ construction of the national consensus for normalising relations with Serbia” supported by the Swiss Embassy in Pristina.