The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo, Donika Gervala, stated that she informed the Council of Europe in a letter that Kosovo is preparing a draft statute for the establishment of a “mechanism for self-governance, coordination and cooperation of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo”.
This draft will be sent for interpretation to the Constitutional Court by the end of May.
The government previously admitted that the formation of the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority was set as a condition for Kosovo’s admission to the Council of Europe.
According to Gervala, the draft statute meets the needs of the citizens of the Serbian community and at the same time respects the Constitution of Kosovo and the principles of the Council of Europe.
“The draft ensures not only full respect for the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Kosovo, but at the same time prevents unauthorized interventions from outside, both in the municipalities of Kosovo and throughout the country,” she wrote on Facebook.
Gervala stated that along with concretizing efforts to establish a Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority, Kosovo expects the Council of Europe to fulfill its part of the obligation and invite Kosovo to join the Council of Europe without delay, since Pristina has fulfilled all the conditions.
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is meeting on May 16 and 17 in Strasbourg. This body gives the final word on the acceptance of a country into membership. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Krešnik Ahmeti, said on May 14 that the issue of Kosovo’s admission to this human rights organization is not on the agenda of the Committee of Ministers.
Gerald Knaus, of the European Stability Initiative, published on the X network the entire letter that Gervala sent to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Greek MP Theodoros Roussopoulos.
In the letter, the authenticity of which was confirmed to RSE by the Government of Kosovo, it is stated that the draft statute that Kosovo is preparing will be sent for interpretation to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo by the end of May.
“In this regard, the Government of Kosovo is preparing a draft of the statute of the Union of Municipalities with a Serbian majority (within the obligations from Articles 7 and 10) inspired by the organization ‘Friedrich Ebert’, which will be sent for consideration to the Constitutional Court by the end of May 2024,” he states. in the letter.
The articles mentioned in this letter refer to the Agreement on the path to normalization and the Annex for the implementation of the agreement, which Kosovo and Serbia reached last year in a dialogue with the mediation of the European Union.
Article 7 of that agreement foresees the provision of “an appropriate level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo”. This includes the formalization of the status of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo.
Article 10 states that Kosovo and Serbia confirm their obligations to implement all agreements reached in the dialogue.
For the establishment of the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority, several draft statutes have been presented so far, including one from the European Union at the end of last year, but also from the German organization “Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung” (FES).
What does the draft Community statute prepared by FES foresee?
At the end of January 2023, the FES published a draft statute for the establishment of the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority in accordance with the Constitution and legal system of Kosovo, which the Government of Prime Minister Aljbin Kurti insists on.
The FES draft, consisting of seven chapters and 18 articles, provides for the method of establishment, organizational structure, relations with central authorities, legislation, budget, as well as other aspects of the work of the Community, including symbols.
According to the FES, the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority may also have additional powers, which may be transferred to the central authorities of Kosovo.
As for the structure, this draft statute stipulates that the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority has: an Assembly, a president, a vice president, a Council and a Management Board of the Community.
FES envisioned several goals of this body, such as strengthening local democracy, enabling, financing or promoting activities that improve citizen participation and democratic practice, as well as representing interests important to local democracy.
The FES document foresees that the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority will have the status of a legal entity, which, as stated, should be granted by the Government of Kosovo by a legal act.
According to the document of the German organization, the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority will be financed from the contributions of its members, income from services provided by the Association, movable or immovable property, transfers from central authorities, grants, donations, as well as financial support from other associations and organizations, domestic and international. , including Serbia.
( Radio Free Europe )
Source link : https://en.vijesti.me/amp/707346/Gervala-informed-the-Council-of-Europe-that-Kosovo-is-preparing-a-draft-statute-for-the-community
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Publish date : 2024-05-16 15:47:05
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