Municipal Association creation theme: Is “Zajednica” on the dialog table

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, however, thinks there can be no one-ethnic association in Kosovo, and that “is necessary integration of all citizens, regardless of the 48x1>. During an address to the media Tuesday, he also stated that there is an act of Kosovo Constitutional Court for Association.

Earlier, Kurti had stated that because the Constitution had found that the Association Agreement was not in line with the Constitution of Kosovo -- “such -- cannot be implemented in Kosovo”.

*Video from archive: The protest of Vetevendosje activists against Association two days after signing the Brussels Agreement in 2015.

Meanwhile, Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, said Wednesday that Belgrade's reaction would be a very powerful and tough “in terms of disrespecting the legal agreements signed in Brussels regarding the formation of the Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo. He added that if Kurti “does not want to talk about the Association of Serbian municipalities, but for us to recognise Kosovo, then he does not have to come (to Brussels)”.

The first meeting between Kurti and Vuciqi in Brussels is expected to take place this month.

When was the Association agreement reached?

In April 2013, Kosovo and Serbia, under the dialogue mediated by Brussels, had reached the first Brussels Agreement, where, under this agreement, the establishment of an Association/United States of Serb Major Cities was provided.

The Serbian association is designed to round up about ten municipalities in Kosovo, where the majority of the population are Serbs, who are North Mitrovica, Klokot, Partesh, Ranilug, Gracanica, Zvecan, Zubin Potok, Novoberda, Leposaviq and Shrpca.

As envisioned with relevant agreements, the Association aims to represent the collective interests of those municipalities, in particular in the field of education, health, urban and rural planning, as well as the economy.

Under the agreement, the association will be established by statute and established on the same grounds as the existing Association of Kosovo municipalities statute, such as mayor, deputy chairman, Assembly and Council.

The association will have full access to areas of economic development, education, health, urban and rural planning and will exercise additional responsibilities, depending on how they are delegated by central authorities.

In 2015, but within the Brussels dialogue, the parties reached the Agreement on Principles to Establish This Association, which has not yet been experienced, despite the official Belgrade's insistence.

Under the Association Agreement and in accordance with the first Brussels Agreement, the main objectives of Association are: exercise your full look at the development of the local economy; exercise a full look at the field of education; exercise its full focus on improving primary and secondary health and social care; exercise full attention for the co-ordination of urban and rural planning; endorses measures to improve local living conditions for returning to Kosovo; develops, co-ordinates, facilitates research and development activities; promotes, distributes, distributes, and provides for issues of common members and those involved in the central authorities; and other local co-operation, local municipalities, etc.

In October 2015, this agreement was sent for interpretation at the Constitutional Court of Kosovo by then Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga.

The Constitutional Court, in the ruling issued in December 2015, said the Agreement for Association on 23 points is not in line with the Kosovo Constitution.

The court had ascertained that the Association of Serb-run municipalities would be established, as envisioned with the first Brussels Agreement (of 2013), ratified by the Kosovo Assembly and proclaimed by the president of the Republic of Kosovo (v.j. Atifete Jahjaga, while the Agreement on Principles (for the establishment of Association, reached in 2015), is not entirely in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court had also found that the judicial act of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo and the statute that applies principles to comply with the spirit of the Constitution must meet constitutional standards.

In fact, it is questionable that the association is not based on multiethnicity, but unites municipalities in which an ethnic community is the majority. There are a total of ten Serb-run municipalities in Kosovo.

While in opposition, Prime Minister Kurti's party, the Vetevendosje Movement, had organised protests and blocked the work of the assembly, due to controversy over the Association and Demarketing Agreement with Montenegro.

From 2015 to 2018, the then opposition had poured tear gas into the convent's environments in order to prevent the ratification of these two agreements. However, on March 21, 2018, MPs had ratified the demarcation.

Meanwhile, Naim Rashit of the Group for the Balkans, has earlier told Radio Free Europe that the creation of the Association of Serb majority municipalities is Serbia's public request in relation to the final agreement on Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, but that the real demand includes a <x0-authauthm”.

The “goes beyond that for major autonomy, which they call the power supply in Kosovo for the north, especially, but potentially for all areas. The demand for churches goes beyond the Ahtisaari Plan, a kind of special status of different modalities for the largest autonomy of Serb-run territories” is required, Rashit has said.

Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia started in 2011, initially at the technical level and then at the political level. This process is reportedly aimed at full normalisation between Pristina and Belgrade.