Integration of healthcare and education – New uncertainty for Serbs

Kosovo’s Prime Minister in a caretaker capacity, Albin Kurti, has announced the start of the integration of healthcare and education institutions operating within the system of Serbia, while at the same time keeping the European draft statute of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities (CSM) in a drawer for more than two years. In the absence of a document that would bind them in any way, and amid the passivity of the European Union and the United States, officials in Pristina will enjoy broad leeway in pursuing their declared intention—prompting Kosovo Online interlocutors to warn that international actors bear significant responsibility.

Written by: Dusica Radeka Djordjevic

For Serbs in Kosovo, it has been reiterated countless times in recent years, healthcare and education are red lines. From international representatives, however, words of reassurance have not been forthcoming—even two weeks after Kurti informed accredited ambassadors in Kosovo of the necessity to begin a gradual integration of the healthcare and education systems.

According to a statement from his office, Kurti said that the integration process would be carried out in coordination with the European Union, ensuring that the concerns and advice of the non-majority Serb community in Kosovo are taken into account.

On the very same day, the EU Special Envoy for the Belgrade–Pristina Dialogue, Peter Sorensen, was in Belgrade, where he was told that healthcare and education constitute the backbone of the survival of Serbs in Kosovo and the core of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

However, regarding the issue raised by Kurti before diplomats, Sorensen did not comment.

Under the Brussels Agreements of 2013 and 2015, it should be recalled, the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities—among other competencies—is to exercise full oversight aimed at improving primary and secondary healthcare and social protection, as well as full oversight in the field of education.

The European draft statute of the CSM has never been officially presented to the public. When interpreted by representatives of the non-governmental sector, it is usually stated that Serb educational and healthcare institutions are envisaged as private entities, financed from Belgrade, placed under the authority of the CSM and under the control of Pristina.

Asked by Kosovo Online whether the EU supports the announced initiative of the Kosovo prime minister regarding the integration of healthcare and education systems, the EU Office in Pristina did not respond by the time this text was published.

Numerous questions remain unanswered: does integration imply that healthcare and educational institutions must obtain operating licenses within Kosovo’s system only, or also implement changes in their functioning given the significant differences between the Serbian and Kosovo education and healthcare systems? How will property and legal status be handled for facilities where teaching or healthcare services are provided, and can Pristina go so far as to shut them down? Finally, is Pristina’s intention to integrate these two systems without the prior establishment of the CSM and without Belgrade’s consent an exercise in wishful thinking?

Autonomous Status

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade Stefan Surlic told Kosovo Online that through the draft statute of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, the European Union has clearly indicated its desire for education and healthcare to be of vital importance to the Serb community, to enjoy a special autonomous status, and that only what is acceptable to the Serb community can constitute a form of integration.

“Of course, the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities is within Kosovo’s system and a certain type of coordination will have to exist, but this by no means implies unilateral actions that would amount to a complete severing of ties between the education and healthcare systems and the institutions of the Republic of Serbia and Belgrade,” Surlic emphasized.

Were such a scenario to occur, he added, it would introduce even greater insecurity among the Serb community. He also noted that talk of implementing integration “in coordination with the EU” amounts to little more than a cliché.

“Our most recent research shows that Serbs who continue to live in Kosovo are willing to remain there only if they are provided certainty, above all in healthcare and education. If there is a high degree of uncertainty even in these areas, it will significantly affect the prospects of the Serb community in Kosovo. That is why I believe international actors cannot allow such a scenario to unfold, as it would effectively mean the end of the Belgrade–Pristina dialogue and complete uncertainty for the Serb community in Kosovo,” Surlic said.

According to analyst Nedzmedin Spahiu, the integration of healthcare and education is envisaged by the statute of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities with a certain degree of autonomy for both sectors, and he does not believe the Kosovo Government will do anything that exceeds that autonomy.

“I see this process as preparation for the establishment of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, especially if it is carried out with the consent of the European community, which is mindful of what is provided for in the CSM statute,” Spahiu told Kosovo Online.

In his view, the Kosovo Government should proclaim the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities at the same time that permanent diplomatic missions of Kosovo in Belgrade and Serbia in Pristina are opened.

Unilateral Actions as a Prelude to New Escalations

Resolving the issue of integrating education and healthcare, according to Lazar Stevic, a journalist from North Mitrovica, is not possible without returning to the negotiating table and, through dialogue, finding solutions that primarily meet the needs of the Serb community—and in no other way.

He said it is surprising that no one from the international community reacted to Albin Kurti’s address to ambassadors, nor was there either condemnation or confirmation of support.

“That is what concerns and interests Serbs here in Kosovo—the reaction of the international community,” Stevic emphasized in a statement to Kosovo Online.

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and Petar Petkovic, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija of the Government of Serbia, Stevic added, have repeatedly said that such major decisions can only be taken through dialogue in Brussels, and in no other way.

“I do not believe Serbs will readily agree to have this issue resolved without the participation of representatives of Belgrade, namely President Aleksandar Vucic. There are many problems here, and I do not believe the international community will remain silent. Kurti has been testing the waters, saying he must implement decisions under the Brussels Agreement. However, he implements only those decisions that suit him and serve his interests, while failing to implement what is crucial for the Serb community—the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. On that, he remains silent,” our interlocutor stressed.

For all these reasons, he assessed, the international community will be the key factor in resolving this issue.

“If they remain silent, as they did regarding the closure of provisional institutions across Kosovo, post offices and banks, this will give him wind in his sails to proceed with his goal of integrating healthcare and education. That would truly be a major problem, on top of existing ones brought by the Law on Foreigners and Vehicles. The unilateral actions Albin Kurti has taken—and is prepared to take again—will bring nothing good. A new escalation on the ground may occur,” Stevic warned.

Without a Firm EU Message

Asked whether an attempt at unilateral integration of these two systems would lead to a new confrontation between Pristina and the international community, Surlic said that clear and firm sanctions from international actors have not been seen so far, due to a lack of consensus among them.

“They share a unified message that dialogue is necessary, and that both Belgrade and Pristina should make certain concessions. But we have not heard that Pristina is actually the one obstructing the process, that it must unblock it, allow the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, and refrain from unilateral actions,” he noted.

There are no indications, he added, that tougher sanctions might be introduced, while even the mild ones currently in force are being lifted.

“Unfortunately, there is no firmer message—apart from the hope that Washington might be more engaged. For now, we do not see that the United States is particularly interested in exerting decisive pressure on Pristina to change course and enable the continuation of dialogue,” Surlic concluded.

Spahiu believes the Kosovo Government does not have the latitude to confront the international community over the manner of integrating healthcare and education, nor is it in its interest to enter into conflict on this issue.

“If we look at Albin Kurti’s actions over the past five years, it may have appeared that he pursued certain moves stubbornly, but in the end we see that these were nevertheless coordinated and factored in with the international community. The same applied, for example, to promises regarding the opening of the bridge, when the international community was firm that he should not do so—and he did not. Therefore, I do not believe that in this case he will go beyond established frameworks,” Spahiu said.