On February 27, it is very possible to be signed an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia based on the proposal that France and Germany have proposed to the leaders of the two countries regarding the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.
There is no publication of the content of this agreement by the respective governments, although the media from both countries, Albanian Post in Pristina and Danas in Belgrade, have published the draft and articles of the agreement framework.
The Republic of Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, although Serbia has never accepted or recognized its independence.
Currently, through the Franco-German or European proposal, the aim is to reach a final agreement between the two countries for the normalization of relations – which has not yet happened.
The Dialogue process
The path of dialogue between the two countries began in 2012 to reach through negotiations in 2013 what was called the “First Agreement on Principles Guiding the Normalization of Relations”, commonly referred to as the First Brussels Agreement.
The agreement has 15 articles. The first six articles deal with the creation, purpose and functions of a proposed Community called the Association of Serbian Municipalities (ASM).
The association aims to represent the collective interests of those municipalities in Kosovo with ethnic Serb majority, especially in the field of education, health care, urban and rural planning and economy.
Other articles deal with police and security structures, foresee that there will be a police force for all of Kosovo including its northern parts called “Kosovo Police”; with municipal elections that must be held throughout Kosovo according to Kosovo law, with an undertaking to intensify discussions on energy and telecommunications.
The 2013 agreement also stipulates that “neither party shall block or encourage the other to block the other’s progress on their respective paths to the EU”. Of course the reference here is clearly to Serbia.
A further step was taken in August 2015 when Kosovo and Serbia signed an agreement in Brussels that provided for the establishment of the Association of Serbian Municipalities and which laid out the general principles that should guide the drafting of the statute for the Association by the government of Kosovo.
The team tasked with drafting the statute failed to complete its mission due to political crises in the Kosovo parliament, caused by the Self-Determination Party, the party of the current Prime Minister in Kosovo, Albin Kurti, who have always been against the formation of ASM .
The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, under the pressure of a tense political situation, asked the Constitutional Court to express itself regarding the constitutionality of the Agreement signed for the establishment of the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian Majority.
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo came out with a decision that the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian Majority had to be established “as foreseen by the first Brussels Agreement, reached in April 2013, between Kosovo and Serbia”.
However, the Court found that the general principles of the Association are not “entirely in compliance with the spirit of the Constitution, namely with Article 3, which deals with equality before the law, with Chapter II, which deals with fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as with Chapter III on the rights of communities and their members”.
These principles, according to the decision of the Constitutional Court, should be in compliance with the constitutional standards of the Republic of Kosovo and should be taken into account when drafting the ASM Statute.
Dialogue has had its difficulties all these years. There were some results, but very small compared to what was expected. The European Union itself has actually not paid the necessary attention.
The war in Ukraine is the catalyst that will increase the pressure of Western diplomacy regarding the political processes in the Western Balkans as well. The West will at all costs separate Moscow from Belgrade because it is Serbia with its policies that is the main threat in the Balkans. Therefore, the role of reaching an agreement between Pristina and Belgrade takes on a special weight.
The creation of ASM has been one of the main obstacles in the progress of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.
Both sides are still determined in their positions: Serbia wants the Association to be implemented as it was signed in 2015, and Kosovo meanwhile does not want to form an ASM with executive powers. The fear of replicating the Bosnian “Republika Srpska” model in Kosovo turns the formation of the association into a sensitive issue for the Albanian population.
The “Franco-German” proposal for the Serbia-Kosovo agreement seems to have complicated this situation even more.
According to the Franco-German draft proposal, an accord for normalization must be signed within this year. Serbia actually accepts the reality of independent Kosovo, even though it does not formally recognize it, and Kosovo must fulfill all the commitments made in the 2013 agreement, namely that of ASM.
The Franco-German proposal is a framework that contains the 10-year vision of solving the problem and gives a “macro-perspective” ending with the moment when both countries will be part of the Union and when the de jurerecognition of the Republic of Kosovo is an obligation from Serbia if it wants to be part of the EU.
The document consists of the introduction outlining the main principles and is then divided into three segments together with three sub-headings containing 13 points.
Kosovo’s membership in international organizations is also foreseen there, and this journey goes through four stages.
According to the proposal, the first stage is “Kosovo becomes a member of the Council of Europe”. At this stage, it will most likely be required that the five European countries (Greece, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania) that still do not recognize Kosovo’s independence, recognize it. Of course, no one can guarantee the independent positions of the parliaments, but the goal is to achieve the result.
The second phase is “Membership in Interpol and UNESCO”. “The third phase is “The start of negotiations for accession to NATO, the application for membership in the EU” and the fourth phase is “Membership in the UN”.
The Franco-German proposal foresees equal approaches for Kosovo and Serbia in respect of territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, recognition of state symbols and additional guarantees for the Serbian community in Kosovo.
The document does not exclusively mention mutual recognition or Kosovo’s membership in the United Nations. Also, the agreement includes the implementation of all previous agreements, including the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian Majority.
At the end, it is explained what both countries benefit from if they sign the agreement and what the consequences would be if the agreement is not reached.
The EU will be the one that will guarantee the implementation of the agreement.
Leaving aside the rigidity in the attitude of the Kosovar Prime Minister, Albin Kurti regarding the proposal for an agreement, hesitations and attitudes that have cost him remarks and threatening tones from the US-EU diplomacy, the main obstacle and issue has been that of ASM.
The problem regarding the establishment of the Association of Serbian Municipalities is the dispute over its powers. While Serbia insists that it should have executive powers, which is supported by the text of the 2015 agreement, Kosovo insists that ASM should be established based on the model of the existing Association of Municipalities in Kosovo, making it similar to an organization not governmental.
While the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić underlines that Serbia expects the formation of the ASM before any political agreement, the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti has presented six conditions before approving its formation.
Only recently it seems that some attitudes have changed about it.
Regarding ASM Vucic stated that “Serbia at this stage does not need to change its Constitution. Likewise, Kosovo should establish the Association, but without changing the Constitution. The association will not be an NGO, however, for the moment, it will not establish a new level of power”.
The special emissary of the European Union for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajčak, in an interview for the Serbian magazine Politika a few days ago, said that “The Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo is not the number one issue for which Kosovo and Serbia must agree” evidencing a softening from the previous positions regarding it, when absolutely the beginning of the establishment of the ASM would have to precede the basic agreement.
“First, the priority is for both sides to agree on the EU proposal. Secondly, we continue to work in parallel to ensure the full and immediate implementation of all elements of what has been agreed so far in the dialogue”, continued Lajçak, stating that the EU is currently working on two tracks so that the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade can move forward based on the European proposal for the normalization of relations.
“The Brussels Agreement (2013) has been ratified by the Assembly of Kosovo”, Lajcak said, “making it an international legal obligation for Kosovo”, while adding that “any further delay is unacceptable”.
Kurtit – Vucic – Borrell meeting on February 27
Meanwhile, according to the announcement given by the service office for external relations of the EU “On Monday, February 27, the High Representative/Vice President of the Commission, Josep Borrell will organize a high-level meeting between Belgrade and Pristina in the framework of the dialogue” .
It appears that an agreement in principle on the proposal has already been reached.
According to a previous publication by the Albanian Post, Albin Kurti and Aleksandër Vucic will meet with Josep Borrell in Brussels, in the last days of the first year of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, with the idea of a mutual agreement in principle to sign the Agreement Basis based on the Franco-German Proposal.
If everything goes according to the agreed plan, after the meeting on February 27, the parties will come out with the announcement that an agreement has been reached in the spirit of the compromise, but the official signing will most likely not take place that day.
After the agreement of 2013, this one of February 27 is expected to be the second most important agreement in the process of dialogue and normalization of relations between the two countries.
The treaty between Kosovo and Serbia is now like a chess game.
Each player’s move is followed by the other’s, and each move determines the opponent’s move.
If Kurti were to make the move to initiate the Association process, it would undoubtedly pave the way for the start of the chess game on the table and force Vučić to make his counter move.
The final goal of the game is undoubtedly the de jure recognition of Kosovo in the hope that Kurti or any prime minister after him can reach checkmate as soon as possible.
