The Government of Kosovo has not yet commented on the initiative of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to draft a statute for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo, which received mixed reactions from opposition parties in the country.
Part of the opposition appreciated Rama’s initiative, while others stated that the drafting of the project belongs solely to the government of Kosovo.
Although the government has not made any comments yet, the head of the parliamentary group of the ruling “Vetëvendosje” Movement, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, said that any action related to the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities should first pass through Kosovo before reaching the hands of the international community.
“That document is for Kosovo, and before it goes there, it should be of Kosovo, with Kosovo, for the citizens of Kosovo. Therefore, I have nothing else to add, if someone takes it or feels that they have the patronage over a process they don’t have, and pushes forward with such a thing,” she said.
Enver Hoxhaj from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, in a conversation with Voice of America, said that Prime Minister Rama’s proposal is a correct and appropriate step that serves Kosovo’s purpose of extending sovereignty throughout its territory.
“I think Prime Minister Rama is right and has the opportunity to make such a proposal on how to overcome the situation in the northern part of the country. If a German foundation like Friedrich Ebert Stiftung or other institutions have the right to come up with proposals as they have done in recent years, then Prime Minister Rama’s approach is very legitimate in providing an idea,” Hoxhaj said.
The head of the parliamentary group of the Democratic League of Kosovo Arben Gashi stated in a social media reaction that only the government of Kosovo is responsible for drafting the statute project of the Association.
The head of the parliamentary group of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo Besnik Tahiri said that such an initiative indicates a very low level of cooperation between Albania and Kosovo.
“We don’t know what the document is. Consequently, it is a confidential document, a communication between Prime Minister Rama and the media regarding an issue directly related to the internal organization of Kosovo. But we don’t know the communication between the government of Kosovo and the government of Albania,” he said.
Prime Minister Rama earlier stated that he has also informed the President of the European Council about this statute project.
Kosovo and Serbia agreed on the establishment of the Association in 2013 within the framework of the EU-mediated dialogue, in which the parties have been involved for over a decade with the aim of normalizing relations.
In August 2015, the parties agreed on its principles, and in the same year, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that a significant part of these principles contradicts the Constitution of Kosovo.
The commitment to establish the Association of Serb-majority municipalities was reiterated in the Brussel and Ohrid agreements between Kosovo and Serbia during this year, which is a condition for the integration of both parties into the European Union.
