Belgium's ambassador to Belgrade speaks of the Belgian model: I say whether it would be applicable in Kosovo

Asked about the German-speaking community in eastern Belgium, about media reports that the EU could propose the same model as the solution for the Association of Serb majority municipalities, Adam said his country has a very specific constitutional system, parts or procedures of which “could serve as inspiration for problems anywhere in the world”.

I've explained to all my colleagues that Belgium is a country that exports many things, but not its constitutional model. We have a highly sophisticated constitutional model, designed to offer solutions to Belgium's problems. It's not something you can copy into another” situation, Adam said in an interview for the Serbian news agency Beta.

He stressed that there is a federal level of government in Belgium, from which some powers have been transferred to two lower levels - in three regions (Wallonia, Brussels and Flanders) and three language communities (Icelandic, French and German).

These entities have parliaments, governments and their administrations, but their competencies change. The region's competencies include economic and environmental issues, while communities are entrusted with language, education, culture and some aspects related to the prevention of diseases”, the Belgian diplomat said.

He claimed that the German-speaking community is quite small, with 75 thousand inhabitants and that it is close to the border with Germany.

The government of the German-speaking community has competencies in language, education, culture, certain social issues. It's regional issues, depending on Wallonia. It has no authority in the economy and issues of urban planning or public transportation, which is the responsibility of regional authorities”, Adam said.

He also noted that Belgium has <x0instruments and very sophisticated” mechanisms for conflict resolution.

The “whenever a community or region thinks that one community or other region is making a decision against the interests of that subject, a procedure is initiated that prohibits the controversial legal initiative and forces politicians to talk about resolving the problem”, the Belgian ambassador said.

He said Belgium supports the EU's efforts and its special representative for dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, “to approach both sides with the determined goal of reaching a legally binding comprehensive agreement that would lead to normalisation of relations”.

“I will not deliberately answer your question if the Belgian model is applicable to Kosovo, it belongs to Mr. Lajcak and all the partners in the dialogue to decide, but I can say some elements might be interesting to consider”, Adam said.