Dialogue again on pause, no date of the next appointment is known

In addition to bringing down the Avdullah Hoti Government, the Constitutional Court's decision on the validity of MP Etem Arifi's vote, which was crucial to forming the executive, suspended an important process for Kosovo.

It is about dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which according to monitors should not continue in this situation in which Kosovo is located.

According to them with the collapse of the Government and the dissolution of the Assembly, continuing dialogue would degrade Kosovo in the process.

Regarding the issue of suspending the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Antigona Bajzak, the government's spokeswoman, has told Express that the Constitutional Court decision will be respected by the prime minister.

“He has clearly said that I will respect the JPC's decision without question, and the Government in Duty will fulfill all obligations that are provided under such circumstances”, she has told Express.

Although the government has pledged to continue working within the legal competencies the executive has, monitors of this process are claiming that dialogue cannot continue without Kosovo institutions being formed.

Violet Hajoli, monitoring the process of dialogue by the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), has told Express that the unsupervised dialogue by the Parliament cannot continue.

I believe there will be no meetings of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia until new institutions are formed in Kosovo, Government, President and the new Parliament. Even though we have the Government on duty dialogue cannot continue, because these days the Parliament will be distributed, which is the constitutional institution that oversees foreign policy, in this case the dialogue. So I can't continue the unresponsed dialogue by the Parliament”, Has Hajoli told Express.

In the meantime, Arber Fetah researcher in the Group for Political and Juridical Studies (GLPS), the failure to continue the dialogue would be the right solution to the situation.

“And in this created situation, the non-continence of dialogue would be the most appropriate step, because Kosovo's position would be extremely weakened with a government on the run-down by the Constitutional Court. However, it remains to be seen how the Kosovo government will act with the new situation created”, he has told Express.

According to him, any meeting between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels during this period would be degradation of Kosovo's position in dialogue.

There is no sense that dialogue can continue with a government that the Constitutional Court has declared unlegal. Any meeting in Brussels now would be the degradation of Kosovo's position in this dialogue. Government decisions and actions in this process would be contested by all, even the next government whatever it is. On the other hand, Serbia would exploit this fragility of the Kosovar side to impose its position in dialogue”, he has said further.

We remember that the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, on December 21st, has declared the Kosovo government's vote, led by Avdullah Hoti by the Democratic League of Kosovo invalid. This government was voted in, on 3 June, by 61 deputies. The court has argued that MP Etem Arifi's vote -- sentenced to jail for a year and three months -- was determining for the government. The court called for the announcement of new elections.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani's post has already held discussions with political parties to set the date for holding elections, which should be held no later than 40 days from the day of their proclamation.

Meanwhile, between Kosovo and Serbia, under the mediation of the European Union, it started in 2011. It was suspended by the end of 2018 for 20 months because of the 100 per cent tax Kosovo imposed on products from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, to resume in July 2020, where high-level meetings between Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq were held.

Another meeting of this level was held in September. But, recently, Hoti and Vuciq have not conducted new rounds of talks. The EU has said that political-level meetings were not held due to the coronary pandemic, while those at the expert level have continued.

Dialogue has remained in discussion on property and financial issues at the expert level.