CSM only in the north – Trial balloon or an option that could reach the negotiating table?

What the competencies of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities (CSM) will be like is a topic that in recent years has largely preoccupied politicians in Pristina, while the issue of the territory it would cover has not been in focus. In recent days, however, an idea has emerged to territorially narrow it down – instead of covering ten municipalities, it would be reduced to four in the north. Such a revision would not be acceptable to Belgrade, according to Kosovo Online’s interlocutors, who view the proposal as an attempt to test public opinion. Opinions differ on whether such an option could nevertheless reach the negotiating table: some leave room for it, while others believe that only what has already been agreed can be discussed.

By: Dusica Radeka Djordjevic

The idea of an Community of Serb-majority Municipalities covering only four municipalities in the north was put forward by Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK) MP Xhavit Haliti. A possible change in positions regarding the formation of the CSM, he said, could lead to it being limited to four municipalities in northern Kosovo, instead of covering the entire territory of Kosovo.

In his assessment, this could represent an initial softening, while the second would relate to the Community not having executive powers.

Haliti’s remarks were not commented on by other opposition parties, nor by the ruling Self-Determination Movement.

Article 1 of the First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations, or the 2013 Brussels Agreement, states: “There shall be an Community/Community of municipalities in Kosovo in which the Serb population is in the majority.”

Although foreign analysts, when speaking about the position and rights of Serbs in Kosovo, often focus only on the north, Serbs form the majority in ten of Kosovo’s 38 municipalities, and under the Brussels agreements those ten municipalities are to form the CSM. In the north: Leposavic, North Mitrovica, Zvecan and Zubin Potok; in the south: Gracanica, Novo Brdo, Ranilug, Parteš, Klokot and Strpce.

CSM Already Defined by a Statute

Self-Determination and Albin Kurti have on several occasions reiterated that they will not form the CSM under any circumstances, Stefan Surlic, assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, tells Kosovo Online. He therefore views Haliti’s idea as an attempt by another political option to offer a revision of some form of CSM, since it is clear that the international community has not given up on it eventually being formed.

Surlic sees this proposal as a trial balloon and assesses that such an approach is unacceptable to Belgrade.

He recalls that the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities has already been defined through a statute that the European Union provided to Pristina and instructed it to submit to the Constitutional Court so that the formation of the CSM could begin.

He also considers unrealistic the idea of reducing the competencies envisaged for the Community.

“This runs counter to the basic ideas – namely, that the majority of Serbs should have a certain form of security through the autonomy that the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities would provide. Second, the CSM already has four clearly defined spheres that are of vital importance for the Serb community, and we could not speak of any reduction in the significance of that Community in the future, because then it would make no sense. What Pristina’s idea is, is to approach the Community and its formation only once it has been completely stripped of meaning and once it no longer has real significance for the Serb community in Kosovo,” Surlic believes.

The ideas Haliti is speaking about, he adds, are unacceptable to Belgrade, because only what has been agreed within the Brussels-led dialogue can be on the table.

“In this case, the issue has already been concluded by Belgrade’s agreement with the text of the CSM statute. This is a European proposal that is on the table, and now it is up to the government in Pristina to unblock the process by having the Constitutional Court assess the constitutionality of the CSM statute,” Surlic says.

He recalls earlier statements by Albin Kurti that everything must first be integrated into the Kosovo system, including education and healthcare, and that full loyalty to Pristina’s institutions must be demonstrated before talking about the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities – that is, that it should be some kind of association at the level of the non-governmental sector.

This, however, he points out, is unacceptable for the Serb community, especially in areas of vital importance such as education and healthcare.

“I believe that for them any form of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities that would have real powers is unacceptable, and that this policy will not change unless there is key international pressure to fundamentally change things, and perhaps for Pristina to face much greater consequences and sanctions if it does not accept this,” Surlic concludes.

According to political analyst Artan Muhaxhiri, the idea put forward by DPK MP Xhavit Haliti of a CSM limited to the north could be an option discussed within the dialogue, but he says the most important thing is to start talking about the Community and to offer options.

With the EU and the US Toward an Acceptable Option

Through negotiations, and with the involvement of Brussels and Washington, he is convinced that an acceptable option will be found.

Muhaxhiri told Kosovo Online that there is great fear among Kosovo politicians to address this issue because they fear losing votes and voter backlash, while the EU and the United States are constantly asking Kosovo politicians to tackle this matter.

“This must be done. It is inevitable to resolve this issue and to offer appropriate options and appropriate modalities in order to find the best possible way to deal with it and to open paths toward European integration, because everything is connected to that,” Muhaxhiri said.

The leader of Self-Determination, Albin Kurti, he says, does not want to discuss the Community as a concrete issue, but wants to deal with it in a much broader context. For that to happen, he notes, negotiations and talks in Brussels must take place, because everything has been halted.

“We do not know which option would be appropriate and acceptable for Mr. Kurti. Both Kosovo and Serbia will start from maximalist positions, and then I am sure that somewhere in the middle an option can be found – and I do not think there is only one. There are hundreds available. I am one hundred percent convinced that only through dialogue, with international support from the EU and the US, can an acceptable option be found and this blockade resolved,” Muhaxhiri emphasizes.

Journalist from North Mitrovica, Lazar Stevic, believes that Belgrade would not consider the option of forming the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities only from municipalities in northern Kosovo, and assesses that such a scenario would not suit Albin Kurti either, since he wants to completely avoid the formation of the CSM.

Only as Signed

Belgrade, he stresses, persistently repeats that the CSM must be formed as agreed in the Brussels Agreement and the Ohrid annex, and in no other way.

According to Stevic, Haliti presented the idea of an Community limited to the north with the aim of testing public reactions.

He notes that the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities is a painful topic for everyone in Pristina and that there are attempts to downgrade it to the level of a non-governmental organization.

“What official Belgrade must focus on is insisting on what was signed and agreed in the Brussels Agreement – that the CSM be implemented in full, not only in the north, but across the entire territory of Kosovo. That means four municipalities in the north and six in the south, a total of ten, where Serbs would have a certain degree of autonomy, because only by forming that Community can we think about any future and survival in these areas,” Stevic told Kosovo Online.

As he points out, Albin Kurti, even while in opposition, publicly and clearly stated that he would never form the CSM, even after coming to power – which he has continued to confirm since taking office.

“He constantly repeats that it is harmful for Kosovo; he will not even send the draft statute to the Constitutional Court for review, despite pressure from the international community to do so quickly. He continues to avoid the topic,” Stevic says.

The international community, he believes, must take matters more concretely into its own hands.

“I do not know how much the Brussels dialogue and, above all, Sorensen can encourage Pristina to do this. However, we are all aware that other international actors, such as the US, can exert enormous pressure on Albin Kurti for the CSM issue to finally come to the fore and be formed. That is what the Serb List is demanding and what official Belgrade has been repeating for more than ten years – that the CSM is a dead letter on paper and must be activated as a condition for continuing the dialogue. Otherwise, if Kurti is allowed to push this aside, an even more difficult period will follow for the Serbs who have remained living in these areas,” Stevic concluded.