Daniel Serwer, a well-known American professor, has written about the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, one of the most complicated topics in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. In an article entitled “What to do with the Association?”, the veteran American professor has assessed that the Association is the inevitable question for all those who deal with the Balkans today.
In his writing, Serër argued that the 2013 Agreement, from which the Association was born, was a beneficial agreement for both parties.
“The 2013 agreement includes a quid pro quo for Kosovo. It envisages the integration of Serbs in the Kosovo Police and judicial institutions, as well as the application of the Kosovo legal framework in all Serbian municipalities. It also provided “that neither party will block, or encourage the other to block, the other’s progress on their respective path to the EU. This was a bilateral agreement, not a unilateral concession. Vuk Draskovic, the former Foreign Minister of Serbia, reminded me of this during a visit to Washington last year,” he wrote.
The American professor has assessed that both parties have failed to fulfill their obligations.
“Neither Belgrade nor Pristina have fulfilled their part of the bargain. Albin Kurti, now Prime Minister of Kosovo, opposed the formation of the Association while he was in the opposition. In power, he has continued to resist its implementation. Serbian President Vučić, who served as deputy prime minister at the time of the initial agreement, has continued to insist on it,” explained Serwer.
“Furthermore, the talk in Belgrade about the creation of a “Serbian world” that includes the Serbian population of neighboring countries has raised doubts. People in Kosovo are worried that Serbia is trying to create with the Association a separate, autonomous area outside the authority of Pristina. These doubts gained credence when a Belgrade-backed proposal for the Association did just that. A similar Serbian association in Bosnia led to war in the 1990s. Meanwhile, Belgrade has failed to fulfill its part of the agreement. It has never given up its efforts to block Kosovo’s progress towards the EU. This includes its recent efforts to block Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe.” – he added.
Furthermore, the well-known professor also mentioned the approach of Western diplomats regarding the issue of the Association.
“I think that intense pressure will make Kosovo receive a proposed statute for the Association. But it makes no sense to condition the admission to the Council of Europe on its implementation. Membership in that otherwise unknown institution would give Kosovo Serbs access to the European Court of Human Rights. This provides a serious forum for the resolution of ethnic minority grievances. Serbia, the USA and the EU should welcome Kosovo’s interest in joining it,” he added.
At the end, Serër also gave a piece of advice about the way forward.
“Besides the pressure on Kosovo, the USA and the EU should remind Serbia of its obligations according to the 2013 agreement. Serbs must re-enter Kosovo’s institutions and participate in elections. Belgrade must end its campaign against Kosovo’s membership in European institutions. Serbia should hand over its rioters and terrorists in Kosovo for trial, as evidence that Belgrade accepts Kosovo’s legal framework. I have no doubt that Prishtina would look at the Association differently if Belgrade would fulfill all these conditions.
Serbia must give to receive. This is required by the 2013 agreement for the Association” – concluded Serwer.
