Germans and Brits ask for the draft of the Association statute -- Lajcak brought the methodology, will Kurt move?

The draft of the Serb majority municipality Association statute, presented by the Management Team at the May 2nd meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq, was dismissed on the part of Kosovo and Serbs who drafted it were immediately dismissed.

However, Kosovo must form a certain Association. Prime Minister Kurti has also accepted this obligation in the recent agreement reached with Vuciqi on the road to normalisation.

Kurt has an idea, inspired in the Croatian model. At the last meeting with Vucinqi, he has proposed a <x0nd-vision” for the work of regulating the Serb community in Kosovo. But Germany and now the United Kingdom are urging it to become more concrete to draft a draft state for Association.

British Ambassador to Kosovo Nicholas Abbott said last week that the time has come for Kosovo to formally propose a draft state for the Association of Serb majority municipalities, indicating that Kosovo's “alates want to see progress in normalising relations with Serbia”.

So now is the time for Kosovo to formally propose a draft statute for an Association, based on the vision set by the prime minister last week, in line with the criteria set by the EU”, Abbott wrote on Facebook.

The same was requested Tuesday by Germany's ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, after a meeting with members of the Parliamentary Commission for Foreign Affairs. He said Kurt's vision was not enough.

The best “Draft can be prepared by Kosovo itself for Kosovo. A vision is not a draft. What we need from Kosovo as soon as possible is a draft, to see what concrete ideas it has for the Association of Serb majority municipalities. This, I think, is Kosovo's obligation to bring this process forward”, Rohde said.

Lajcak methodology

Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, Kosovo's chief negotiator in dialogue with Serbia, on Monday after meeting with Serbian chief negotiator Petar Petkovic in Brussels, spoke of several documents that showed the European Union's minister for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, brought them to Pristina during last week's visit.

One of the documents, as Bislim showed, was “a methodology” of how Lajcak sees the most important work of forming association.

For the 2 May summit, it wasn't part of the meeting today, but it was the documents that Mr. Lajcak on his 11 May visit to Pristina. He has brought, for example, a draft of how the terms of reference for the Joint Committee dealing with the monitoring of the Bazic Agreement, draft document on terms of reference for the Joint Committee dealing with the implementation of the Agreement for the Pageur and a methodology of how he sees the work of learning about the implementation of the 7th Basic Agreement”, Bislim said.

For the two documents, Bislim said it was impossible for them to go to Brussels with full answers, but said they have promised they would hand over Friday. The methodology about association, Bislimi rejected it.

“For methodology we have said that we cannot build methodology for one of the provisions of the agreement without having an implementation plan for the agreement as a whole and therefore the same is not discutu at all, he said.

What's Kurt's idea?

After considering the draft proposed by the Serbian team unacceptable, Prime Minister Albin Kurti gave little details about his proposal, which he called <x0-vision”.

For his proposal, Kurti has requested that discussions begin “as early as”.

I've told you, rationally, logically that it is currently incompatible with constitutionality, and therefore it's good to start discussions on the basis of a valid draft vision what I've proposed today”, Kurti said on May 2nd.

Kurti said his draft division was inspired “due to an agreement Serbia has made with Croatia”.

Serbia and Croatia have agreements for normalisation of relations, where rights are provided, safeguard clauses for the national Serb minority in Croatia. And I was inspired by that model, since, as known by the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavia, Croatia emerged as an independent state and we as the Republic of Kosovo are part of the same process of breaking up the former Yugoslavia. After all, that Croatia is both a member of the European Union, and it is a member of NATO, and it has normalized relations with Serbia, and we as the Republic of Kosovo aspire both in NATO and in the European Union, I believe that it has been a proper model from me that I have received inspiration to write this 11-point vision draft, or 10 plus 1 to be the exactest”, the prime minister has said.

In his draft division, Kurti S'e specifically mentions Association, but is called at Article 7 of the recent agreement with Serbia, which envisions the creation of a level of self-advancing for the Serb community.

A draft post, according to Kurti's proposal, must meet certain conditions between the others, “provides the members of the Serb community in Kosovo with the opportunity to promote and protect their interests through a single-management framework”.

At the head of Kurti's vision, it is cited that the statute should be in line with the Constitution of Kosovo, with the letter of former senior EU representative Federica Moghrini sent to former Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and with the US stance, which has expressed some guarantees of what association should be.

Then, according to Kurti, the possibility for co-operation with Kosovo institutions should be presented, as well as the “fully recognise Kosovo's constitutional characteristics”, respecting its independence and territorial integrity.

Kurti's proposal “envisions a direct channel of communication with the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, among other things, through participation in the Consultative Council for Communities”. Serbia can finance association, according to Kurt's vision, but by respecting certain rules.

The “will provide opportunities to finance from Kosovo's budget, international organisations, institutions and donations of third countries, including from Serbia, which should all be sent through Kosovo Ministry of Finance procedures and regulations”, it says at the fifth point of the proposal.

The proposal also underscores that there will be links in the field of culture, art, science and education, as well as associated with various natures for <x0 quasi-cuting, feeding and development of Serbian identity”, based on current laws on the exercise of nonprofit services.