The German organisation that drafted the Association draft: It is a good basis for discussion

Rene Schlee, from this organisation, said he believes this draft “is a good basis, which after publication deserves to be discussed by government and nongovernmental actors”.

“We will organise a public presentation of the draft at the right time”, Schlee said, but did not specify more.

Authorities in Kosovo did not comment on this news, while Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, said drafting the Association statute is the work of the management team, under the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, rather than a non-governmental organisation.

Speaking to Happy Television in Serbia, he asked how a German nongovernmental organisation can speak about the competencies of Association.

Who are you to deal with this? It's a matter of Serbs and Albanians if it's anybody's. Why should you mix in what Serbs in their municipalities will do”, Vuciq said.

Even the director of the Office for Kosovo in Serbia's Government, Petar Petkovovic, said this week that the draft of the Association statute should be made by the management team, not by a non-governmental organisation.

The effort of a non-governmental organisation to take responsibility for drafting the Association statute loses the meaning of dialogue and violates agreements that defined the issue”, Petkovic said.

Friedrich ch-Ebert- Stiftung is a German political foundation, promoting a free society based on the values of democracy. The organisation has its own representative offices in more than 100 countries and supports the policy of peaceful co-operation.

The formation of association has been agreed on in the dialogue mediating the European Union, but the issue, for years, continues to be an obstacle to normalising Pristina-Belgrade relations.

Kosovo rejects forming association with the argument that it is not in line with the Constitution of Kosovo and that it cannot create one-ethnic associations. Serbia, on the other hand, conditions further normalisation of relations with Kosovo precisely with the formation of association.

German organisation's representative for Kosovo, Rene Schlee, tells Radio Free Europe that the statute was drafted on the basis of public information on topics of public importance and stresses that such a thing was not required by the EU, Germany's Government, the US or any other party.

In October of last year, some media in Kosovo published the draft association status, claiming it was drafted by German experts.

Schlee confirms Friedri ch-Ebert-Stiftung, in collaboration with the European Institute for Peace, worked in that version of the statute, but says when it was released last year, it was just a work document that is already “-yeard”.

He says he does not want to reveal parts from the new draft version, but stresses that he is harmonised with the Kosovo Constitution.

“One of the desired results of our work is the drafting of a statute that is in line with the Kosovo Constitution”, Schlee says.

Details from “

The original draft of the statute stated that the Association of Serb majority municipalities is “subject law, which is formed in line with the law for ratification of the First Agreement and the Constitution of Kosovo”.

Under that document, the Association statute would have to be adopted by the Government of Kosovo by legal action, in accordance with the Constitution.

The association would have its symbols, including a coat of arms and a flag, to be designed by the board of directors of association and would comply with the Kosovo Constitution.

Also, according to that document, the association could be distributed at the Kosovo Assembly's decision with 2/3 of the votes.

As objectives of association were listed: strengthening local democracy, developing the local economy, monitoring in the field of education, primary and secondary health, rural planning and urban planning, etc.

According to the draft status body drafted by the German organisation, which already changed, the Association of Serb majority municipalities must have a assembly, a speaker, a deputy chairman, a council, a board and an office for complaints. The association would have its own budget, but it would be subject to Kosovo's General Auditor's Office.

International Community Requests

The United States and the European Union have repeatedly urged Kosovo to form the Association of Serb-run municipalities.

US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar has warned that, on the contrary, they will seek “alternative partners”.

On 11 January, during his stay in Kosovo with senior US State Department adviser Derek Chollet, Escobar has clarified that “alternative partners” can be: civil society, multiethnic groups or institutes so subjects that can offer ideas, under which the Association could be formed without violating the Constitution of Kosovo.

Similarly, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, responding to the United States' request that Kosovo put on the table proposals for forming association, has said the issue could be resolved within the framework of the final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.

Formation of association was agreed with the Brussels Agreement in 2013, and two years later reconciliation for principles was reached.

Key problems related to the formation of association relate to its competencies.

In December 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that the principles of Association are not fully in the spirit of the Constitution, Article 3 for “in forward of law” and chapters for the basic “rights and freedoms” and “communities' rights and their members” respectively.

However, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo did not say in its conclusion that the association should not be formed, but that its competencies could be adjusted to the statute. /rel/